Elections & Olympics

It's a U.S. Presidential election year. It's a summer Olympics year.

And with the Democratic and Republican national conventions about to unfold and the sacred sporting event about start in its birth place, Athens, Greece. I should be excited. I should be stock piling snacks and beverages for marathon televison watching.

Anticipation. Tension. Ready for the Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat. Hoping my favorite candidate will win the nomination. Hoping my least favorite politician of the other party fails to be nominated.

Getting chills and goose bumps from great speeches and appearances by big political names as well as grass root politicians. The above are all things of the past. So is feeling the pride of being an American enjoying democracy in action. Feeling the swelling in my chest and the tears in my eyes as a great American athlete, or a foreign athlete for that matter, compete to be the best in the world. Standing up and cheering all alone in front of my television set. Wiping my eyes as the Star-Spangled Banner is played while the American Flag is raised as the gold medal is hung on the neck of another winner.

Right now none of that is happening. I'm worried. I fear those feelings are not coming back.

And pholks, it has absolutely nothing to do with my age.

Just what the hell are we supposed to get excited about for either of the two major party political conventions?

Despite the fact that network coverage will be cut way back it's a pretty good bet even the reduced coverage will be far too much.

What is our nation coming to when 50 million more Americans are glued to their TV screens to see which person Donald Trump will point to and say "You're Fired" then will watch the GOP or Democratic Party conventions?

Will they even have the roll call of states casting votes for their "favorite son" nominee or "for the next Republican presidential candidate?"

Today's political conventions are about as useful as a Selectric typewriter or a rotary telephone.

No matter how much they toss around balloons and shake their signs and posters and dance in the aisles, there is no way the delegates are going to feel any kind of real accomplishment. None of them will ever be able to tell grandchildren they helped a president win the nomination then make it to the White House.

How much pride can a state's delegation take in putting "their man" or favorite son (or maybe daughter) "over the top" to capture the nomination?

Sure there will be some great speeches, but none which will make a difference. Are any of us dumb enough to consider that someone other than Bush-Cheney or Kerry-Edwards could somehow emerge from the conventions and be a contender? Sure. And Martha Stewart is going to win Miss Congeniality.

In short, there are going to be thousands of gallons of helium wasted on red, white and blue balloons.

The Olympics are even more scary. I love sports and can remember hundreds of hours spent following the Olympics in great detail. Yes, I believed in Miracles. I dreamed of the Dream Team, I rooted for Edwin Moses, Flo Jo was a hero. And Mark Spitz was bigger than life. I fell in love with tiny gymnasts I even became an ice-skating fan during winter. The Olympics are special. Special for the right reasons. Those reasons are fading faster than sprinters can sprint.

International terrorists and questions of how much security is enough outweighs anticipation of world records and gold, silver and bronze medals. Should not we be more concerned how a certain star achieved his or her goals than how much performance enhancing drug or muscles-building supplements he or she has used.

Are the gold medal winners going to be the ones who really are the best or just the ones who were the best at "masking" their steroid taking or whatever? Are we going to admire the person on the victory stand or are we going to wonder if the neck surrounded by that gold medal is that of a man or woman? Will snipers or suicide bombers prove they are more skilled than the world's top athletes? Will we be watching to see how far the javelin thrower tosses the sharp stick or will we be searching for his or her target?

Anyhow, both events, the conventions and the Olympics will provide some degree of anticipation. Will the conventions survive? Will the Olympics be able to handle all the hurdles?

Or will we have to tell both of them "You're fired."

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