JEDDAH, 20 August 2004 — First, let me make it clear that I have always enjoyed watching the Olympic Games on television ever since I was a child. The problem nowadays is that the Olympics have been turned into gigantic business proposition both for the viewing public and the organizers.
This year’s Summer Olympics currently under way in Athens, Greece, are no different. In this post-Sept. 11 world, with fear stoked by the US war against terror, the Greek government spent gazillions of dollars on security measures for the games, twice what was spent on the Sydney games. Blimps with security cameras were shown hovering over Athens, even though by the middle of the first week of the games they were grounded because of the annual high winds that blow through Greece. Visions of a terrorist attack on the Olympic village, a la Palestinian strike at the 1972 Munich games, must have danced through the heads of Greek security officials. Although I agree that being prepared and ready is better than being unprepared and sorry, I do think security arrangements were a tad over the top.
And let’s talk about tickets being overpriced: According to ABC News forty percent of the seats at Olympic events remain unsold because of fears of terrorism and high costs have kept the viewing public away. At the Sydney games, organizers gave away free tickets to fill up the seats, while at the Seoul games the Korean government bused in soldiers dressed in civilian clothes to watch the games and fill the seats. When the Athens organizer of the games was told that perhaps the Greeks should also give away tickets to fill up the seats, which by the way look horrible empty on TV, she grimaced and said no way. It would be unfair to those who actually paid for tickets, she said. And pay through the nose they have been doing. I saw one guy selling a ticket for a women’s gymnastic event for 105 euros! That’s SR488 or $130! And how about hotels in Athens? With a mid-priced hotel being quoted at SR700 ($186) a night, I hate to think what a luxury hotel would go for.
The opening ceremony provided much bang for cash, although the pregnant New Age woman with a light in her womb was a bit too gimmicky for me. Someone watching it with me in the office, though, literally believed what he saw and asked me if the woman was really pregnant, to which I had to say, “no of course not, or the baby would have been killed by the electric light in her womb.”
The parade of national teams was completely unpredictable this year as they seemed to appear in alphabetical order according to the Greek alphabet! Thus, we would have a slew of nations beginning with “B” and then suddenly have Syria and Vanuatu appear.
The Philippine delegation composed of 16 athletes went by in a blink of an eye, while the US and Australia both had some of the largest delegations at the games. 200 delegations made the rounds of the spanking new Athens stadium, although why Guam, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands and assorted other island entities are allowed to send separate delegations to the games even though they are not independent nations, is beyond comprehension.
Now that the games are underway, some have objected to the dancing girls performing at the women’s beach volleyball games. The Australian athletes complained that they were a distraction, but enthusiastic spectators, ranging from menopausal women to young men, were all overjoyed with the performers. I watched a few of the games and found the fact that beach volleyball is played with only two players on each side of the net, instead of the usual six in regular volleyball, to be rather strange.
With Athens being seven hours ahead of the East coast of the United States, most of the Olympic coverage for Americans by NBC is taped and not live. At least at the Olympics, American televiewers are not king, unlike the Miss Universe contest, which is broadcast live at whatever ungodly hour it is locally at the pageant site to suit primetime viewers in the US. Also, I don’t understand why Americans have to be warned each time results are going to be mentioned, just so that they won’t know the results before viewing the event hours after it actually took place. Are Americans that babyish that they can’t bear to know in advance who won before viewing the event?!
According to my colleague Raffy Osumo there were two bright stars in the Philippine contingent at the Athens games: Harry Ta?amor, a light-flyweight boxer, who according to Sports Illustrated has a chance at winning the bronze medal in his category. The other was 19-year-old archer Jasmin Figueroa, who beat a former world champion in a previous competition.
Unfortunately, 19-year-old archer Jasmin Figueroa dropped a 150-152 decision to World University Games silver medalist Almudena Gallardo of Spain after shocking former world No. 3 and record-holder Natalia Valeeva of Italy, 132-130, in the round of 32.
The Philippines didn’t win any medals at the last games in Sydney, and won a silver in boxing at the 1996 Atlanta games. Hopefully, this year Filipinos will take home two medals, if not more.
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