Nolympics 2020

Four years ago this time, I expected to be providing my usual satirical comments on about the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.  But of course, I don't need to tell you again that the Games were postponed until 2021 as a result of COVID-19. Though, to be honest, the chances of this damn virus affecting the planet this time next year as it is now are, alas, pretty good, so it's possible if not likely that the Olympics will be canceled entirely - which would be the first time that's happened since 1944. 

I'm relieved, actually, because I tend to go over the top in my Olympic commentary in an effort to cover as many different events and competitions as possible, and it's quite exhausting.  And as you already may have gathered, I'm not very confident in Tokyo pulling the Games off in 2021, either.  Good grief, why are the Olympics being held in Tokyo exactly one year from now?  Bear in mind that 1940 Olympics and the 1964 Olympics were both given to Tokyo, and both were scheduled for early fall.  As with the 1944 Games, the 1940 event was canceled due to World War II; the 1964 Games were in Tokyo as planned.) This is because eastern Asia is known for lousy weather in the summer.  Not only that, the chances of getting the pandemic behind us ("us" meaning the seven billion-odd people on this planet) are much better for the autumn of 2021 than for the first three seasons of the year.

One other thing I'd like to say, despite the controversy it might cause, is that I think it's also time to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing.  China's leaders are wholly responsible for letting this virus escape their borders and infecting everyone else, and the Chinese leadership has to answer for that.  Also, Beijing already held the Summer Olympics only twelve years ago (2008), the city itself is in a less-than-ideal climate for winter sports, and unlike previous Winter Olympic cities, it's just too damn big for an event that is considerably smaller and more intimate than the main Olympiad.  Let Pyeongchang hold the Winter Games again, or better yet, give them to 2022 bidder Almaty in Kazakhstan - because why should Russia  be the only ex-Soviet republic that gets to hold the biggest international sporting event in the world?  (Sochi was ridiculous, given its mild climate and its inability to keep enough snow on the ground for the outdoor events.)  I know Trump is on record as supporting a move of the 2022 Winter Olympics to somewhere else, but I really don't mind agreeing with him on this issue.