Sport without crowd attendance is kind of weird. The Tokyo Olympics is no exception – it’s not the same. Unfortunately, Japan is currently in the midst of the fourth COVID-19 wave with averaging over 1000 for the past couple of weeks …
(numbers are analogous to those during the second wave in January). So, there was not much choice for officials and they correctly banned spectators in the stadiums. An argument could be (many were) made for cancelling the games but let’s be honest TV deals are too lucrative – better to go through the motions, and refer to them as a “celebration of hope”. Plus, Coca-Cola needs some advertising after Ronaldo’s performance at Euro 2020 (2021). In Australia, we get Macca’s commercials pretty much during every break. Don’t get me wrong Coca-Cola is a great beverage (in moderation; I think it’s good stuff but not the “diet version”) … and not many things beat a Macca’s burger, especially on a limited budget and on the run! Despite the corporate influence which is necessary, the Olympics are great and leave a lasting influence of host cities; for example,in Melbourne we have the Olympic Village with a multi-purpose park and lasting liveable dwellings in Heidelberg.
Rightfully, one thing that remains constant in the Olympics is that Hellas is the first nation to enter the stadium during the opening ceremony; apart from the Hellas factor and the impressive drone display – the rest was pretty boring … for me. Talking about Hellas, the Greek Freak – Giannis Antentokoumpo – did us proud again; 50 points in Game 6 and NBA Champion (and MVP) with the Milwaukee Bucks! In the meantime, the Greek Government is not as popular with its mandatory vaccination policies, which we’ll talk about another time. By the Australia’s entrance was spectacular – beautiful uniforms – and on the Basketball theme, Patty Mills was one of the flag bearers along with Cate Campbell excellent!
Anyway, the Olympics are underway and hopefully, they don’t become associated with any superspreader events or the delta variant getting out of control in Tokyo and other parts of Japan. There have been some cases positive cases in the Olympic Village already but things look to be under control for now.
Hopefully, they are a “good games”, and Australia and Greece and other countries win lots of medals and athletes make some money from corporate sponsorships etc. That includes “ROC” athletes – a silly punishment – doping is a complex issue, probably much more widespread than we think – and we won’t go there … now!
Until next time …