Bayshing OLYMPICS
I’ve got to say, all sport and victory aside, one of the best aspects of this year’s Olympic Games, is the MASSIVE amount of mistakes and shady cover-ups that have occurred. And don’t think it’s just me who feels this way; simply type ‘Olympic bloopers’ into Google and you’re confronted with a staggering 557 000 results!
During the opening ceremony alone, at least seven different things went wrong. My favourites include; the young girl who accompanied the pianist by bashing a few keys and picking her nose, at least three people forgot to turn on their torches leaving noticeable black gaps in the performance and finally, when the Chinese flag was held at the end of the ceremony, it ironically hit the face of a soldier in the background. I certainly found it an amusing ceremony.
One of the most controversial issues however, also occurred during the opening ceremony when the original young child singer was replaced by a “more attractive” little girl. At first, I personally had a bit of a chuckle at this piece of news but upon reflection, it really is absolutely horrific. Imagine the psychological impacts of such an action. According to a Chinese spokesperson, Yang Peiyi, the actual singer, was replaced because of “national interest” (BBC NEWS, 2008), a concept that confirms even within the most skeptical, that western society is indeed predicated upon a sense of superficiality. The scary thing is that this shallow act could cause serious harm to the young girl who may develop acute self-esteem issues, forever being reminded that she wasn’t cute enough for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Despite these errors, I find the most interesting to be the manner in which Olympians who make mistakes, react. We watch as they put everything into landing the perfect routine, running as fast as they possibly can to defeat competitors or cycling with such intensity their legs become victims to the speed, turning into blurred circles. So when they make a mistake, more so in the gymnastics, who are the tears for? Do they cry because they’re human and they made a simple mistake or are they crying because they feel that citizens of their country, although subconsciously, may blame them for the subsequent loss of a medal? Whatever the reason, this ‘sport’ thing, particularly the reactions athletes make to a mistake, is way too emotional for me.
So I guess on the surface, the blunders made at the Beijing Olympics are pretty amusing, but if you scratch a little beneath the surface, some can be a little too close to heartbreaking.
