The United States concluded the 2004 Athens Olympics with - ho-hum - the most medals won by a single nation, 103. 35 gold, 39 silver, 29 bronze. Of course, many American spectators - not to mention The American Spectator - are undoubtedly happy with this.
It's quite touching, really, how an Olympic medal count makes any country feel good about itself, but the celebration in the U.S. for our big medal haul has an ironic twist to it. Many of these medals were won in swimming - eight swimming medals for Michael Phelps alone - and track and field. Never mind that we don't pay attention to these sports in non-Olympic years. Never mind that a lot of us had never heard of Phelps or track stars Justin Gatlin or Shawn Crawford two months earlier and won't hear about them again until the next summer Olympiad.
And while many Americans won medals, there are many more who didn't. Why slight those athletes? Even if winning in the Olympics is more important than taking part, despite what Baron Pierre du Coubertin insisted so many years ago, the fact that those Americans who came in fourth or lower - including Marion Jones - did take part should count for something.
Having said all this, I'm still proud of our 2004 U.S. Olympic team. I am, after all, the official fan of the 2004 Olympics (and don't you forget it!!), and I'm going to salute them not because I have to, because I want to. They did a great job, and they deserve our congratulations and our respect.
Our men's soccer team, on the other hand . . .
(Hey, don't mind me, guys, I'm sure you did the best you could to qualify - good luck in your bid to play in the 2006 World Cup! :-D)
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