Disappointment
I would not want to be in London's shoes right now.
After concluding the 2008 games with a stunning closing ceremony, China capped off what was one of the most successful Olympic games in modern times. The venues were large, polished, and cutting-edge works of art that were edgy, classy, and competitive. The skies were clear and blue. And the festivities were grand.
So successful were the Beijing games, actually, that China has effectively set up a major letdown when London unveils their opening ceremony in 2012. To be blunt, there is no conceivable way that London will match what China accomplished in these games.
Overall, the 2008 games cost a whopping $43 billion. Those blue skies? the result of a massive campaign by the Chinese government to eliminate the toxic smog that coats Beijing the other 346 days of the year, involving the temporary shutdown of major factories and government order that certain citizens not drive their cars on certain days. The opening ceremony alone cost over $100 million and featured 15,000 VOLUNTEERS, all who trained 8+ hours a day for over 3 months leading up to the ceremony.*
London has no chance.
The kind of mobilization, nationalism, and control that was exuded with these games is only possible in a country like China, a place of unlimited money, unlimited labor, and unlimited power for the leaders that be. Again, London simply has no chance to match what was accomplished in these games.
Would you ever expect an image like this to come out of London?!?
World Domination
The 2008 games behaved as a coming-out-party of sorts, opening the doors for a colorful myriad of brilliant athletes to capture our hearts and seize our admiration. While there were several athletes in particular who captured my attention (Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Shawn Johnson, May/Walsh), the obvious standout of the games were the Chinese athletes, who signaled a new era of Chinese dominance on the Olympic turf.
Once again, this is a level of dominance that is only possible in a country like China. Obsessed with international recognition, the Chinese governmentn scours its landscapes, searching for children who are both young and talented. Once found, they are taken from their homes and trained mercilessly, working towards the ultimate goal of winning a gold medal for their motherland China.
Though this scenario is heartbreaking, props must be given to how clever China has been in assembling these athletes.
In the 1988 games, China won five gold medals. In the 2008 games, they won 51. The dramatic turnaround is the result of this cleverness. Self-conscious of the medal count, China specifically picks athletes whose talents lie in sports that produce the most medals. This way, they stack the most medal-plentiful sports with superior athletes, running up the scores and sweeping the golds. This was evident in sports such as men's gymnastics and diving, where China accomplished a near sweep of the gold medals. But that is not all.
Not only does China place emphasis on the sports with the most medals, but they also focus on the sports with the least amount of attention, further increasing their propability to sweep the golds. Obscure sports like weightlifting and shooting become medal goldmines, producing for China eight and five golds, respectively.
And this is where China will prove to be unstoppable, and why the United States has no chance to counter.
The Chinese sporting environment is built around the Olympics. Nowhere is the love of organized sports similar to the United States, where the worlds of baseball, basketball, and football are billion dollar enterprises. Consider this: The US basketball team, a team composed of some of the most talented athletes to ever grace this earth, produced only ONE gold medal for the US' medal count. Olympic baseball? similar dilemma. Football? Forget about it! Compare that with the 12 gold medals China earned in weightlifting and shooting and you have a culture clash of epic proportions and one that will be impossible to control and impossible to counter. So I would recommend that we enjoy the US' lead in total medals for this Olympics, because it may very well be the last time we experience such a privilege.
*Also, the director of the ceremony, Zhang Yimou--the same guy behind "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers"--was told by the Chinese government that he would have an unlimited budget to create the greatest opening ceremony in Olympic history. Yeah, I know, the artist's wet-dream!
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