The Beijing Olympics - Peas From the Same Pod

I'm not the biggest Olympic guy in the world, but the 2008 Games hooked me in at the opening ceremony and held me all the way through the Redeem Team's gold medal victory. In a year of great sports moments, these games had more than their share.

Michael Phelps dominated the games with his eight golds...until Usain Bolt lightninged his way to three world records. The basketball gold medal game was an instant classic, but the best American basketball team was probably the women's team that barely broke a sweat in Beijing. The American track team was a miserable disappointment, but the water polo guys came out of nowhere to grab a silver medal.

Even China, with its repressive government, mistreatment of the Tibetans, aid to the Sudanese government, censorship of the media and the rest, came across as a likable place. Going into the games I had serious reservations about the games highlighting today's China. I still do. But I've got to be honest: I enjoyed the heck out of the Chinese atmosphere and culture. With the exception of one nut, the games seemed to be safe for athletes and fans alike. China's government might be ugly, but it came through in regards to these Olympics.

The Olympics and China are peas from the same pod: they are as wonderful and beautiful as they are terrible and tragic. For every Michael Phelps there is a tae kwon do idiot kicking a referee, a racer tossed for juicing or wrestler throwing down his medal. For the beauty of the opening ceremony there are stories about inhumane treatment of the performers in preparation. It will be the same in four years when the game visiting London and the same four years after that as well.

The older I get, the more I realize that politics is sports and sports is politics. The only difference is that sports have more equipment. The good and the bad that comes along with both was displayed to the world for the last two weeks in China.