The Games

Photo of US Olympic Trials Champion Nikki Hiltz by Howard Lao

The Games

Words Jeff Merrill

Watercrafts packed with the world’s top athletes rolled down the Seine as choreographed performances on the banks guided their journey. Paris and the creative team assembled were tasked with the job of defining their entire history, present culture and that of the Olympic spirit in a half-day’s production. A monumental task, whose results would be viewed by 28.6 million people worldwide, over 11 million more than the Tokyo Olympics. This supports my hunch that one of the main drivers for TV/streaming interest is having large in-person viewing crowds. Everyone was stuck at home during the Tokyo Olympics and people still didn’t watch nearly as much as they had all previous Olympic Games. Interest is compounding. If you can see on screen fans acting wildly and unabashedly displaying their excitement and love, the importance is evident. The more people doing this, the more we want to also be involved. FOMO is real.

*Note to domestic track meets- focus on packing the stands before turning your attention to broadcasting (this is coming from a broadcaster… but also a track meet guy).

On the banks of the Seine, Lady Gaga performed at the base of a bridge in what looked like a cut from a Good Morning America number. Snoop Dogg walked with the torch. If every-day walking were an Olympic sport with subjective judging, Caleb Dressel would be interviewing Snoop’s family in the stands.  In one of the more jacked up parts of the afternoon / evening, French heavy metal band Gojira stood on balconies in an old stone castle-like building and rocked their electric guitars while rows of windows framing actors dressed as Marie Antoinette’s sang opera style from their severed heads. The Olympics, better than any other sporting event on the planet showcase place and use it to elevate the meaning of the competitions. They are the best at setting the stage, and the French wrote the book on Mise en place.

There are events and systems whose existence and success are almost a part of nature. They have found a groove whether by construct, timeline, feeling or rule that ingratiates them to many different people, and because of that, are elevated. The NFL schedule is one of them. The way the season is constructed places an exquisite amount of importance on each game that dwarfs the significance of outcome of games of other competing sports and allows for the perfect amount of weekly analysis and hype to be developed before the next time teams take the field to settle the arguments. I don’t know if this is by careful design or happenstance or a mix of both, but it is now in a “don’t touch it!” spot, because no one can point to exactly what makes it so good, but most would agree that it is, very good. Adding an 18th game would be like pulling a block from a Jenga tower.

Racking my brain for other examples, it’s difficult to find ones that aren’t related to sport. I know they’re out there, the ritualistic festivals and holidays that take place once a year, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, the War on Christmas and of course, Festivus. There is, however, an incomparable feel that comes from competition. Competition is the culmination and execution of talent and skill. Other showcasing event forms exhibit these qualities, competition distinguishes them, and there is the element of the unknown- they are unscripted. I’m not saying all events should be competitions; that is a very American way of looking at things, and a capitalistic one- one that leads to people arguing about whether it should be ‘legal’ for musicians to take drugs that may enhance their songwriting or harmonica-playing abilities, as if creating a chart-topping song is the goal rather than instilling a unique feeling within another person. The Grammies are not the reason people write songs- or they shouldn’t be. The Olympics are, however, the reason many people play sports. They’re the highest level an athlete can reach. No matter how many people try to argue differently, the goal of playing sports is to win. To say otherwise is to focus too heavily on the negative consequences that can bubble up from competitiveness- jealousy, greed, vindictiveness- you know, the things we all love to see come out on the pitch and in reality TV because we know they’re naughty and the critic loves to point out how the strong athlete stumbles. Sure, sports are also about having fun, building character, and learning how to deal with defeat and victory to apply these skills to different aspects of life, but those are guiding principles in the pursuit. If someone playing a game is not playing to win, they are being dishonest and probably not very fun to play with.

It is because of this special quality unique to time-honored games that strike a balance between surprise of skill and nostalgia of tradition that competitive events occupy a different sphere. Music and art shows can take on a whole different feel from year to year depending on the artists, the place and the material.  The prize for a competition and the pursuit of it creates a cohesive thread through generations that calls up and connects feelings and memories. Victory is a faceless rider on a white horse galloping through time.

The pursuit of victory in all its forms is incredible artistic fuel. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are two contrasting star emotions but there is an entire spectrum of complex sensations and storylines that build to these that would script an incredible Osmosis Jones-style movie diving into the minds and bodies of Josh Kerr or Sha’Carri Richardson.

The feelings invoked by competition are so sharp and affecting that the inspiration to create around them is unavoidable. Ballads are written for victories, and in anticipation of them. Statues are erected and murals are painted commemorating great moments. The authentic seed of competition inspires creativity in many different forms, and the evolution of those artistic forms can be seen every 4 years at the Opening Ceremonies as can the evolutions in artistry and technique be seen in service of the win in the arenas of play. With athletes coming from every corner of the globe to represent their unique homes of fine sand and rocky soil, palm trees and pine, warm breezes and icy winters, hot dogs and croissants, we all have a connection to the event taking place that touches the rest of the world, and we all want to know what goes on in the Olympic Village. The sights, scents and sounds of Paris will be remembered by the athletes competing there forever.

President of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee and 3-time Olympic champion, Tony Estanguet speaking directly to the rain-soaked athletes at the Opening Ceremonies stated:

“When you return to the Olympic Village, you will be sending a message of hope to the whole world: that there is a place where people of every nationality, every culture and every religion can live together. You’ll be reminding us: it is possible….

…For the next 16 days, you will be the best version of humanity. You’ll remind us that the emotions of sport form a universal language that we all share….

…Your defeats will be our defeats. Your victories will be our victories. Your emotions… will be our emotions.”

The infrequency of The Games’ occurrence allows enough time to pass to build on their mythology and expand their mystery. There have only ever been at most 29 individual Olympic gold medalists in any given event (aside from the Men’s High Jump, which has 30 due to the shared gold between Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim in 2021).  Younger generations fall in love with the Games and dream of one day reaching the heights of the Olympians they watch on TV.

The Games appear as if conjured up from a fourth dimension by the ritual of the Opening Ceremonies. A wormhole opens in the host location and venues appear spotted around a city like wizarding world locations all connected to a cozy, flower-crammed NBC studio housing Mike Tirico that I imagine sits atop the Eiffel Tower. We escape the monotony of everyday life to celebrate the talents of skilled practitioners of their craft that might as well be wizards in a mortal world. We shine in their glow and get to possess a piece of their victories. We’re inspired by their talents to find our own, because we are all individuals, none of us exactly like the other, and after all, talent is just difference among us leaned into and stretched until it appears to border on superhuman ability. It is to be celebrated, championed, and used heroically to bestow gifts on our fellow humans, for team and country. Why shouldn’t we live in a world like this? It sounds make-believe, but you can’t deny the realness of the feeling. They’ll write songs about it, paint murals, erect statues and spin tales, until it is once again time to settle the argument.

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

Enjoy the Games.

In arena Track & Field (Athletics) events begin on August 2nd with-

Prelims of the Women’s 100m

Round 1 of the Men’s 1500m

Round 1 of the Women’s 800m

Round 1 of the Women’s 5000m

Final of the Men’s 10,000m

And more. Full Schedule HERE

Follow Tracklandia on Instagram and TRACKLND.com as we dig into previews and recaps of track events throughout the 33rd Olympiad. 1916, 1940 and 1944 are still counted in the numbering even though the Games were not contested, hence the 29 Gold Medalists.

Anything can happen. The value of an Olympic medal and the rarity of the occasion to reach for it makes The Games the definition of must watch. This is where you will see your favorite athletes stretched to their fullest potential. Stars will be born and legends made.