I am surprised by the number of people in the media and elsewhere who are suggesting America go easy on the patriotic stuff at the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
I've heard it said it was OK for the Super Bowl to have a red, white and blue theme because it's our event, but that the Olympics belong to the world and are only ours to borrow for 16 days.
To that, I say, "Bull."
The Olympics have always revealed as much about the world at the time as they have about the athletic prowess of various countries. It's sweat and politics combined as it can be at no other time. The Americans beating the Soviets in hockey in 1980 would have been great no matter what, considering how dominating the latter had been for years, but it wouldn't have been nearly that special if the countries had been political allies at the time.
In Berlin in 1936, Jesse Owens' performance effectively spit in the face of Adolf Hitler and his supposed master race.
How about John Carlos and Tommy Smith raising their fists in Mexico City in 1968⢠That image remains one of the enduring symbols of America's internal struggles in the 1960s.
Then there was the U.S. boycott of the Summer Games in 1980. And, of course, the darkest Olympics came in 1972 when 17 people were killed in Munich, including 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.
I'm not suggesting that fans in Salt Lake City be rude to visiting foreign athletes or fans. But there is nothing wrong with cheering the U.S.A. like crazy. Paint yourself red, white and blue. Dress up like the Statue of Liberty if you want. It is the world's stage.
The Australians went bananas at the summer games in 2000, and it was considered quaint.
But people are saying that the same type of pride in Salt Lake City is jingoist. Spare me. After what this country has been through the last five months?
Keep it tasteful and peaceful. But let 'em know how you feel and where you live, folks.
It's better than waiting to twirl a sparkler in your backyard on the Fourth of July.
A free trip to Hawaii and a party like only the NFL can throw still isn't enough to entice many players to go to the effort to play in the game, and why should it⢠These guys can afford their own first class tickets and limo service even though nobody likes free stuff more than professional athletes.
Did anybody think that maybe the game is just a bad idea?
If you just competed in the biggest football game in the world a week ago, why would you want to play in the Pro Bowl⢠Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce and tackle Orlando Pace backed out. Unofficially, they were suffering from bruised egos. And that may be more understandable than Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who claimed a stomach ache and backache kept him from participating. At least the dog didn't eat his homework.
Vikings center Matt Birk had a legitimate excuse: He was getting married.
I didn't watch the game, and few of my most fervent football fan friends even bothered to tune in. No wonder: Similarities between the actual playing roster and the original were strictly coincidence. Why not just name the deserving players as all-pros and give them a plaque. Save the island limos for the real tourists.
But since the league is so fond of handing out fines, one should be levied against commissioner Paul Tagliabue for getting caught drinking out of a Coke can on TV during the Super Bowl. This, despite the fact that Pepsi spent 10 trillion dollars on advertising during the game. If Coke was the only thing available in his luxury suite, then he should have at least had the smarts to put it in a cup.
Boston stopped being associated with the team a long time ago, choosing the more regional and homogenized city name "New England."
Now, make no mistake, Boston is a great sports town, a long-suffering sports town. Championships have been rare with the exception of the Celtics, and those days are ancient history. So, jumping on the bandwagon is understandable. But while Bostonians love their basketball, baseball and hockey teams, their football team is left to listen to anti-Yankee chants at their Super Bowl victory rally.
Too bad, it would have been so much more appreciated in Market Square.
Leading the way there is fullback Dustin Picciotti, who has hopefully conquered his concussion-related troubles. But there are also guys like defensive back Josh Lay and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald who committed last year but had to go to Valley Forge Military Academy to become academically eligible. Fitzgerald visited Ohio State as recently as January, but both will be at Pitt in the fall. Then, there is former Pine-Richland offensive lineman Jason Capizzi, another leftover from last year's crop who is already enrolled.
Add these guys to the high school seniors from this year, and Walt Harris has reason to be pleased.
Guy Junker is a broadcaster with Fox Sports Pittsburgh. His column, "One Guy's Opinion," appears Mondays in the Tribune-Review.
