Very nicely said, Cyber. Despite my earlier comment, I too enjoy competition (but doing rather than watching) and think that the Olympics are quite possibly the best world-wide method where the rivalries are good-spirited and everyone can root for their particular country (or individuals from other countries if they choose too). It's the best example I know of patriotism done in a very favorable and positive way. Many if not most other forms of patriotic behavior are not so pleasant (war, genocide, economic/financial efforts to the point of ruin, nasty or worse attitudes that exist not only in the countries but throughout the world between the nations involved, terrorism, hideous actions,...). It's nice to see this shining example of how it can be done pleasantly. There are other examples (international chess or go tournaments, etc...), but none of these draw anywhere near the same levels of attention and spirit by average citizens as the Olympics.
So being patriotic myself (notice my Avatar - and while chosen for a variety of reasons involving that character, patriotism was also one of them even if not as "friendly" as Olympic competition though always in a way where the actions could be totally justified), I suppose I should be watching and rooting for team USA. When I check out the news, I do look to see what happened and I'm pleased when the USA does well and disappointed when they don't - but I just can't find the time or inclination to actually watch (except I hope some of the gymnastics).
When I was in international ninjutsu and aiki-jutsu tournaments (on those rare times they occurred in the USA and I could fit it in - after all, it's not often I otherwise get to compete with people at or above my levels), I did so both for personal achievement as well as national pride. It's too bad that the true grandmasters are in Asia where you must train for the higher ranks than I have (and typically can only do so in very limited places - e.g., Japan for ninjutsu). The net result was almost always, except for rare exceptions/accidents, that all other countries/locations were eliminated relatively quickly because even those of officially equivalent levels trained by the grandmasters who competed learned more about some of the otherwise never seen techniques that blew the rest of us away. So it was hard to take pride when the chances of winning were about the same I'd have of beating Roger Federer in a single game (if even scoring one point) let alone a set or match - aside from never having played Tennis before. But we did have some wins (even I had a couple) and those were intensely satisfying. The less official matches (which I never entered but know some who did) had nothing to do with national pride and were all focused on individual achievements - something totally different (and often exceeded and still do what I'd consider normal competition which is one of the reasons I avoided them besides them never being in the USA).
So, nothing personal to you or anyone else from anywhere else, I hope team USA does well this year. While not a certainty, I imagine Venus and Serena will be in it to the end and probably come up with some medals - maybe even gold ones. I don't keep up enough on anything else to hazard a guess at where USA has a chance, where USA is a certainty, or where USA is going to be crushed - but I'll hope for the best anyway as I read the results (I don't spend time on analysis and predictions and such). Too bad my avatar doesn't exist and can't compete or USA would need a truck to carry all that gold. LOL!
And while I too hope for no drug or other similar scandals to mar things, I hope much more (and would even prefer the scandals) that there's no repeat or anything similar to Munich.
