Georgia Out of Our Minds

In every Olympiad that I've commented about on this blog, beginning with Athens in 2004, I've found plenty to make fun of, and I haven't pulled any punches either, but I've actually been disappointed when I haven't found more "Olympic moments" to criticize, complain about, satirize, and abuse. For my money, though, I don't think any Olympiad, winter or summer, will ever match the 1996 Games in Atlanta for opportunities for satire. There seemed to be one moment after another that was fair game (pun very much intended) for ridicule.

First, there was Atlanta itself. Every Olympic city uses the Games to display its culture. Atlanta, of course, couldn't do so; it doesn't have any. No one goes to Atlanta for its museums, theater companies, or ballet. If anything, you go to Atlanta to change planes to get to a more desirable city, like Houston. The opening ceremonies were a complete disaster, full of white-trash honky-tonk entertainments and saved only by Gladys Knight's rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" and Muhammad Ali lighting the cauldron (actually, he lit the fuse that led to the cauldron, but never mind). The Games themselves were priceless for their sillier moments; Donovan Bailey's ridiculous facial expression when he set a new world's record in the men's 100-meter dash, the United States Swimming Federation's random ad hominem attacks on any swimmers they suspected of cheating, and of course, the U.S. men's field hockey team, which adhered to the strict tradition of providing a chuckle by losing repeatedly.

Then of course, there was NBC Sports' jingoistic coverage, NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol's relentless emphasis on sob-story athlete biographies, his wife - actress Susan Saint James - conveniently appearing on television in the stands ("Who did she have to marry to get such a good seat?" :-D ) , and of course I have to point again to noted gymnastics non-expert John Tesh covering those events.

The whole state-fair atmosphere of the Atlanta Games, with its cheesy corporate commercialism, was encapsulated in one ghastly travesty by Centennial Olympic Park, a hideous public space surrounded by corporate pavilions that comprised a miniature Epcot. That site has since become hallowed ground, though, as a result of the tragic bombing there that killed one woman and led to the fatal heart attack of a cameraman. That the Games continued, in spite of the terror attack, was a rare moment of poignancy in Atlanta. Yet leave it to the FBI - Fools Bungling Investigations - to finger the late Richard Jewell, the security officer who discovered the bomb and moved people out of harm's way, for the crime without actually labeling him a suspect.  This practically ruined his life - inviting more satire - and let the real bomber, Eric Rudolph, get away for seven years before he was arrested on an unrelated charge by a small-town police officer in western North Carolina. This in itself would be funny if it weren't so serious. :-( :-0  

Aside from that terrible sequence of events, Atlanta's satirical moments were strictly a comedy of silliness and stupidity. Looking back, I'm sorry Blogger.com didn't exist in 1996. Though, to be honest, I didn't really expect much in this satirical vein from London, Beijing, or Athens - especially Athens. Because Athens is one of the great cities in the entire history of human civilization, with a rich heritage and culture dating back three thousand years, it is steeped in seriousness and high-minded purpose. Plus, the Olympics, with their ideals of greatness and brotherhood, started there, so the Greeks take the Games very, very seriously. Atlanta, on the other hand, has, in the Big Bang scheme of things, has only been a major city since last Tuesday - and it's missing all of the history and seriousness worthy of a great metropolis. Its "heritage" is in smarmy conservative Sun Belt politics and values, with a dose of spiritual and intellectual emptiness. This does not make for greatness, but it does offer many opportunities for satire.