Wanderings – Drones not included please

By the time this column is read, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will be over. And I can happily say that I have not watched one minute of any of it. I have followed along through news reports of all the drama through sport – from personal achievements to injuries, to drone scandals and coach suspensions. But I don’t get fired up with patriotic love for my country based on the athletic results. There are a lot of problems with the Olympic movement, not just in Canada – but the world. Some of that mirrors my issues with other global sports too.

In summer or winter, the Olympics are tainted by the mix of pro and non-pro athletes participating. Multi-millionaire NBA and NHL stars playing for gold medals is not the same as someone who’s dedicated their life to their sport at all costs, including financial. Canada’s Olympic athletes make peanuts compared to some athletes from other countries. Our Olympic program, while good in some ways, falls short of many other countries in how the athletes are supported, and provides access to competition and training. Canada does better than it did, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best by far.

For athletes in those circles, how does that compare to any pro-league athlete? The combined yearly salary of the US Mens National Basketball Team exceeds $1 billion. These 23 men’s professional contracts are worth almost as much as the $8.5 billion US it cost for Paris to host the 2024. Come on! When the playing field isn’t level, how are all athletes able to compete in their sport on an even playing field?

I am disappointed in what happened with Canada’s Women’s National Soccer team. The drone non-scandal blew up because the team’s coaching staff got caught. Again this is little different than a few years ago when the Houston Astros were caught stealing signs in the World Series.

At a high level of competition, teams spy on each other. Canada’s coaching staff were dumb enough to fly a drone in a no-fly zone and got caught. Does that make it morally okay to do so? I know when I’ve coached soccer teams I focus more on what the players I coach are doing, and watch in the game what others do. But I do not coach at a national or international level. Maybe a career change is in order – there may be a job opening soon. The fact is, teams spy on each other. They watch game videos, plant people during practices, and do research. Canada got sloppy and was caught for it. Example made. Canada’s Women’s team were penalized six points by FIFA. And to show how good the team is, they still made it out of their group into the knockout stages. It took going to penalties against Germany to lose. That says something.

Money is one of the biggest issues I have with the Olympics. Cities and Countries practically bankrupt themselves to host the games. Millions go into the bidding process, followed by billions into building out all the new shiny infrastructure to host the games for two weeks, and the Paralympic games afterwards. Much of the infrastructure build becomes a drain on that city and country’s finances for decades afterwards.

The Paris Olympics cost $8.5 billion US to stage. Meanwhile like many western countries, France faces a multi-billion dollar housing crisis. If only there were some money laying about to address that. Wait, there was and French politicians opted to have a bunch of athletes compete in their sport for a bunch of shiny medals and national pride bragging rights instead? That is cold comfort to many I am sure.

I believe that the idea of an international sporting competition like the Olympics are a good thing, but there needs to be some very clear reforms to the movement. And this can also apply to single-sport competition organizations like FIFA and its World Cup too.

Instead of moving the summer and winter Olympics around from country to country, pick a place and keep those games there in perpetuity. A once-every four year remodel of venues is far less expensive than picking up stakes and taking the show on the road. Getting all parties to agree on which country or territory will become the neutral hosting territory could be an Olympic competition as well – entertaining to watch at least.

The Olympics should return to being amateur athletics only. If an athlete earns more than a certain benchmark wage from their sport per year, they are disqualified. Sorry Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White, go win us Celtics fans more NBA titles – no more Olympic medals for you. All teams should be funded well by their countries too.

Lastly, expect that teams are going to try to see what others are doing – don’t be surprised if they do. I’d still ban drones from flying over the games – those things are just annoying, like those Vuvuzela horns.

This column was originally published in the August 14, 2024 print edition of The Morrisburg Leader.