I read with disbelief the diatribe aimed at the London Olympics written in Steve Kidd’s column ‘Longing for an Olympic reprieve’ (Aug. 3 issue).
Firstly, he states that the competition is held “every couple of years.” Mr. Kidd, one of the things that makes the Olympics the spectacle that it is, is that it is held every four years (two years in between summer and winter games).
Then he mentions that all the seats in the stands are empty — actually every single night the Olympic Stadium has been filled to 80,000 capacity (one million alone applied for tickets for last weekend), and this includes support most nights from the royal family who actually appear to be watching avidly and enjoying events in contrast to what Mr. Kidd says about Her Majesty the Queen. Every day 300,000 people have lined the river watching the boating events — empty seats indeed.
While I agree that some of the competitors should not be there (pros), the vast majority of representatives there (Canadians included) dedicate their whole lives training for this event. There are over 14,000 athletes representing over 200 countries from around the globe at this years Olympics — all striving for the same goal.
Instead of picking on a truly global and highly anticipated spectacle, perhaps Mr. Kidd should stick to his armchair watching other ‘global’ North American sports such as NHL, NFL, Nascar or maybe the ‘World Series’ of baseball. There, go and have your reprieve Mr. Kidd — and let the rest of the world carry on as they were.
Tick Taylor
Penticton