The point of the Olympics, going back to ancient times, was to celebrate greatness. There were always cheaters — the winner of the marathon in the 1904 Olympics was disqualified for getting in a car during the event — but they were generally dealt with pretty quickly. Fraud wasn’t rewarded. Or at least, it wasn’t rewarded openly and deliberately by the people running the show. By the way, but the guy who eventually won the marathon at the 1904 Olympics — after the guy who took a car was disqualified — almost died at the finish line because his trainers had given him a treatment that included brandy, raw eggs, and a poison used in pesticides. It was a different time.
These days, the Olympics aren’t any less bizarre. But they are cringier. Between the degeneracy at the opening ceremony of this year’s Olympics, the convicted child rapist playing volleyball, and the two men violently beating women in boxing competitions, these Olympics were fairly disastrous. Indeed, it’s safe to say that greatness is no longer the point of the Olympics. After all, a culture that rewards mediocrity cannot tolerate a celebration of excellence. So instead, you were instructed again and again to watch losers and pretend they’re successful. Humiliation is now the point.
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