The Mediocrlympics

Anyone else thinks the Olympics celebrates mediocrity a little too much?

Don't get me wrong. It's an incredible honor just to compete in the Olympic games and represent your country in that way.

But on the other hand, it's also an honor to compete in the NBA, the NHL, the Premiere League and other such professional organizations. But it's only in the Olympics that coming in second or even third is such a huge deal.

Think about this. The American media has been making a big deal of how the US won a record 37 medals in Vancouver. But most neglect to mention that Vancouver also handed out the most total medals, not to mention that out of those 37, only 9 were gold. Germany and Canada both outdid the USA with 10 and 14 gold medals respectively.

I'm sure some competitors are just happy to be there. But ultimately, isn't the Olympics a sporting competition? And don't all real competitors compete to win, to finish in first so you can say that you are in fact the best?

Apollo Ohno's won seven medals. That's great...until you consider that only two of them were golds.

I guess what it comes down to is what you value more: being good or being great.