As IF Times

link:  https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/alysa-liu-champion-who-cant-stop-smiling

Image from Getty Images NBC

That people are tribal is not a new revelation; it’s a basic human condition which exists in our DNA for reasons likely linked originally to survival.  We can probably accept that when people were running around in loincloths and bearskins, it was a good idea to side with the people that looked like you and behaved similarly. It provided some degree of safety to be part of a supportive group in an otherwise hostile environment.  You identified with your group.  We all know of the mythic rivalry between the Hatfields and the McCoys, two rival Appalachian  families who feuded for decades just because their names were different.  The families of Romeo and Juliet; same thing.
On a much larger scale, we have always had divisions of populations based on such identifiers as religions, on ethnicity and race,  on regions and nations and also based on ideology. History shows that the consequences of belonging and identifying with one group over another one can be serious and even fatal.   Lots of wars have been fought based on the disputes both between and amongst such factions.

In today’s slightly more civilized world, these tribal instincts are manifest in less consequential but no less heated loyalties.  Much of these tribal urges are now focused on sports. We all know of the rabid fans in the soccer world during the World Cup when national pride is contested on the soccer pitch.  The activities of a nation can come to halt if a given nation’s team is a contender.  Most recently, the huge commercial event known as the Super Bowl was held and partisan supporters of both teams displayed their fanatical devotion by paying exorbitant sums just to be present at the event and to buy and wear the partisan colors.  This despite the fact that the lives of fans would not be affected in any meaningful way at all, regardless if their teams won or lost.  It was just a tribal thing.

At the moment the 2026 Winter Olympics are being held in Italy and this is the proto-typical occasion to show tribal support for your people, which means for the most part, your country.  People identify with these athletes only because they represent their tribe. If their athletes succeed, there is the notion of reflected glory for the fans of the nation, that they too are part of that athlete’s success.  While it’s natural to root for your country, the feats of the athletes have little to do with their nations.  It’s the result of years of dedicated effort to reach their level of competence. With that said, there can be no greater glory than to stand on the medal podium with your nation’s national anthem playing for everyone.  When the American women’s hockey team won their gold medal, they all collectively stood and sang their national anthem. On the other hand, you could see the heartbreak in the faces of the Canadian team who came up short.  It wasn’t just the loss, it was a loss for their nation. People vicariously live through these athletes representing their national pride.   Nationalism and patriotism is still a strong binding tie for most populations which is why we witness so much backlash against the talented skier Eileen Gu who elected to compete for China instead of her native United States.  The exact opposite was the affection for skater Alysa Liu who was unabashedly patriotic for the United States,  a story which is more compelling given that her father is a refugee from China.

Unfortunately this notionally non-partisan world class sporting event is being used more and more as a political billboard for many participants.  Certain among the American contingent have taken to use their 15 minutes of fame to criticize their own nation or to highlight issues that have nothing to do with competitive sports.  The dynamic of the “me me me” mindset has unfortunately made its way into the arena of sports, a venue which is meant only to showcase the best talents of dedicated athletes.  As the Dixie Chicks intoned years ago, ‘just shut up and sing’.

link  Truckloads of snow dumped on melting Vancouver mountain | Reuters.

When they promised that the Vancouver games were going to be green, they didn’t fool around.  First of all, credit goes to the writers of this story for not blaming the unseasonably warm weather that’s occurring in Vancouver on Global Warming.   A year ago, when the frenzy for everything AGW was at its peak, you can bet that SUV’s  and air conditioners would be fingered as the causes of no snow here in February.  Now that there appears to be some cracks in the case for AGW, there are fewer knee jerk reactions to anything that is ‘abnormal’.  At least the games people had a contingency plan in case of no winter in Vancouver, though I suspect moving snow from 150 km away by truck was probably down the list around plan G.  Hey, it’s Vancouver, we’re famous for rain.  Even pets here wear gore-tex. 

The second thought that comes from this article is the entire circus surrounding the Olympics.  While no one is naive enough to think that the spectacle is really about skiers, skaters and bobsledders, the whole “Olympic spirit” propaganda seems hollow when the reality is that the staging of the events are political and economic operations.  If this were not the case, the venues would be the same every 4  years, in particular, the winter Olympics. According to John Furlong, the Vanoc chair when speaking to the lack of snow,

“This has happened at every Olympics and what we’re trying to do is demonstrate we are on top of this.”

 It would make far more sense to hold the events where winter has a greater than 50/50 chance of showing up.  In addition, it would be easier to compare the performance of participants from year to year.

Instead, a beauty contest is held regularly to determine which city will have the “privilege” of spending billions of dollars on infrastructure and these days, security.  The process resembles the old joke; the good news is, you won; the bad news is, you won.  If nothing else, it’s a good excuse to travel somewhere fun every 4 years.  The unspoken winners however, are those involved with the decision making process as Olympic committee judges.  These guys get wined, dined and feted like royalty as nations vie for their favor and attention like competing lovers.  Why anyone would run for el presidente of a country is beyond me when being an Olympic poobah is a much better gig. 

There is obviously economic benefit from hosting the games of course.  Builders, engineers, contractors and developers benefit.  Vancouver will get new civic structures, possibly legacies for future generations.  So you have to spend a billion or so to get a billion or so.  Minus the cost of medals.  And umbrellas.