The Olympics sits in a strange position in our collective view of great sporting events. Clearly, to some, it is a much anticipated and glorious pageant of sporting excellence, celebrating the dedication of committed athletes the world over. To another, more bemused group of observers, it seems little more than an overblown exercise in the self-promotion and expression of nationalistic pride of both the host nation and the main medal contenders, usually the richest countries, to demonstrate dominance over their rivals.

What Price to Pay for Olympic Success

Fellow sports betting enthusiasts know there is every excuse to take the latter view in the four year period between each Olympiad. A pompous and powerful committee presides over the granting of the right to host the games and huge amounts of cash, expended by hopeful nations in the grovelling effort to establish their worthiness just to be considered, causes many a jaundiced eye to be cast over the proceedings. The winning nation then has to spend the equivalent of the gross national product of Sri Lanka to build the site where they will be held.

Olympic Spirit

Then, sometime after the absurdly extravagant opening ceremony, costing the same as the gross national product of Egypt, the moment arrives when the athletes convene on the playing field and the games begin. As if by magic, all cynicism is suddenly washed away and our hearts go out to all these individuals, regardless of nationality, as we share their pain and hopes and aspirations in their ultimate moment of reckoning. Here is laid bare the true nature of the Olympics. The absolute trials and tribulations. The sheer joy on the faces of the triumphant as the sacrifices they have made are rewarded and the dues they have paid are returned to them in full. In this it becomes clear that the Olympics are unquestionably an unqualified affirmation of the potential of the human spirit.