Olympics 2008

[Alex]

I would be fine with eliminating the "country" concept from the Olympics. If the 23 best shot putters in the world are from Lithuania and there's only room for 25 shot putters, then I'd rather see 23 Lithuanians than the 163rd best shot putter from Namibia. But I know it won't happen because if you eliminate the silly nationalism of it all then you eliminate any emotional justification for the hassle of hosting it.

Of course silly is in the eye of the beholder. Just because I think you're being silly is no reason for you to change your behavior. But yes, being happier about a victory just because that person is American is, to me, pretty darn silly.


BTD, no I haven't swam competitively but I have done other things that are inherently differentiated by very narrow margins. And I still say it was a tie in all but the most technical sense of the word. The French result was 0.03% slower than the American result. That's just not a difference I can work myself into caring about.