>>>>>Next time, the Olympics should be carried out on the Moon. No reports of serious human rights violations from there, so far!
>>>>
>>>>Maybe the world should just agree on some neutral ground - an island somewhere that enjoys all four seasons and has both rivers, lakes, and mountains for winter sports. They can be held there forever... :o)
>>>>
>>>>Now, which country gets the travel rights, phone, food, lodging, security? Hmmm, time to privatize the UN? :o) Or we just give it to the Swiss...
>>>
>>>Its should be permanently in Greece. And it should be just the classic track and field events in a stadium plus a marathon. And no national flags and medal tables. Plus they should be genuine amateurs.
>>
>>Greece would be fine with me, and the classic track and field events too. I would love to see the olympics lose the flags and medal tables. I've never really understood the whole concept of "they're competing for their country" - especially here in Canada where the country does so very little to help them. They are competing for themselves. The whole pride thing is a bit foreign to me too. If somebody who happens to have grown up in the same country as I did wins a medal, I've never been able to figure out just exactly what it has to do with me. I might root for him/her, just as I root for the Toronto Raptors basketball team, but if they win, I have great doubts that I had anything substantial to do with it.
>>
>>As far as being amateurs, well, I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about that. The original marathoner, remember was a professional soldier, not an amateur. Some even believe he was a professional runner (whatever that was back then).
>
>The story may be apocryphal but it is one of my favorites and absolutely my favorite brand name backstory. His name was Pheidippides and he ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of 26 miles, to announce a Greek victory in battle. He fell dead at the ruler's feet but not before shouting out the Greek word for victory: nike.

I though he yelled, "Whaddaya mean Silver!" ;)