Here’s the other thing about the Olympics:
I like rooting for the underdog, on the field and off the field.
I am an American, so I am supposed to be America First, but, man oh man, we are such a bully on the biggest stage in sports.
Don’t get me wrong — I love seeing the brilliance of Michael Phelps or Simone Biles.
But overall, I find myself rooting against the USA.
Heck, China, Russia and America seem to have so many built-in advantages over the rest of the world.
First of all, we’re bigger. Lots of bodies in China, Russia and America.
Second of all, we can spend whatever money we choose to win.
Third of all, we even eat better — well, at least in China and the US; I’m not sold on Russian cuisine yet.
Every Summer Games, the USA gets the most gold medals.
And, every Summer Games — although it’s a very large world out there — the USA, China and Russia get about one-quarter of all Olympic medals.
By the way, somehow Great Britain also has done remarkably well in recent Summer Games, but this might be the result of an accounting error, plus it was pre-Brexit.
Anyhow, I’ve got to root for the underdog, I‘ve got to root for the little guy.
Let’s go Turkey. Let’s go Ethiopia. Let’s go Slovenia.
Let’s go Bahamas. Let’s go Ivory Coast.
Let’s go Mongolia and Finland and Niger.
Let’s go Trinidad and Tobago.
Did you know that Christopher Columbus was the first European to see Trinidad, in 1498?
But they’re smart — no Columbus Day there, so that argument never rears its ugly head.