Are you watching the Olympics? It’s not doing too badly in the ratings; in fact, the ratings for the programming are outperforming US athletes!
The US beating Russia in hockey was a nice flashback to 1980, but, basically, we suck this time out. As of this writing, we’re 7th place in gold medals, our athletes are phoning it in, and one in particular (I’m looking at YOU, Shaun White) didn’t even try.
We should not be surprised. The performance of our athletes reflects the state of our country.
We have a poor economy, high gas prices, high unemployment, a lot of hard knocks; yet everybody has food, television, the mall parking lots remain packed, and life pretty much carries on as normal, because yes we can, it’s Bush’s fault, and you’re a racist. Why bother making the effort? The gubbermint done gonna be there to hep. This attitude is translating to our athletes, who are showing the world that the US is nothing like it used to be, but at least we’re not Mexico. Mexico didn’t even bother going to Sochi. What? Mexico ain’t got no snow? As usual, Mexico is full of excuses.
Speaking of excuses, the US athletes are full of them, too. The uniforms are too restrictive. The altitude is too high, man, I can’t get no air. If the ICO gave out gold medals for excuses, the US would be #1. There has been nothing exciting about the US performance at Sochi; about the only noteworthy thing people may remember next time around is Bob Costas and his Commie Pink Eye.
And all of this can be placed at the feet of Mr. Obama (Bless His Holy Name) who leads with the greatest example of mediocrity since Ulyses S. Grant.
I’m sure we’ve been up and down the list of medals before, but this time feels different. It’s one thing to give everything you have and win bronze; it’s another to not even try and then cry about it after, as in this example from Breitbart:
“Figure skater Jeremy Abbott’s high hopes came crashing down when he came crashing down on the ice. His performance for the media wasn’t nearly as graceful as his performance on the ice. ‘I just want to put my middle finger in the air and say a big “F-you” to everyone who has ever said that to me because they’ve never stood in my shoes,’ Abbott emoted in reaction to potential criticism of his twelfth-place finish. ‘They’ve never had to do what I’ve had to do.'”
Jeremy, pal, buddy, with all due respect, you finish 12th place and you bet you’re gonna get hollered at for it, because America is better than that. At least we used to be. And maybe if you spent a little more time practicing and less time pulling the poor me act, playing your X-Box or whatever it is you figure skater types do when you’re not dressed up in tights and looking like a 10-year-old girl, you’d have won something. Anything.
But at least we aren’t as bad as Mexico.
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.*
*From THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
