In terms of mega events, I will always view the FIFA World Cup as the greatest sports event in the world.
Sure, it’s only the sport of football featured, rather than a multitude of athletic endeavours, but the glory of winning that game’s greatest prize – and even in some cases qualifying as a tiny nation – somehow seems a lot more significant to me.
But the Olympics offers the chance to fully immerse yourself in sports you wouldn’t normally give a brass razoo about.
Even the most passionate Olympic followers (I’m looking at you Bruce McAvaney) would struggle to tell you who won the gold medals in fencing, equestrian and archery at the last Summer Games without looking it up.
So why do we care about this event every four years?
The modern Olympics had terrible beginnings. The second and third Games, in Paris and St Louis, were basically sideshows to World Fairs held at the time. In other words, the World’s Fair was considered more important than the Olympics.
As part of the St Louis games, exhibitions were held to determine how ‘savagaes’ would go against whites.
In The Roar’s Olympic countdown we also featured the ridiculous moment when golfer Margaret Abbott didn’t even know she was competing in the 1900 Olympics.
Not exactly a great start, but it didn’t take long for the Olympics to be taken seriously.
As with any worldwide competition, nationalistic pride comes into play.
Governments saw the power of the games to push their ideology, to prove their country is a world superpower through sport.
The public, of course, goes along for the ride, swept up in the emotion of seeing their heroes beat the best twice in a four-year period (summer and winter). Heroes who aren’t necessarily known before the event but become household names after. The Olympics are incredible in that sense.
Think, for example, of how ‘doing a Bradbury’ has become part of the Aussie lexicon, honouring Steven Bradbury, who won gold at the Winter Olympics for speed skating after his competitors fell over. Speed skating! When had Australians ever cared about speed skating before that epic final in 2002?
It’s also unique to Australians that we remember that moment, whereas Brits would likely have no idea who we’re talking about if we mentioned Bradbury.
Even those staunch AFL and/or rugby league-only supporters who claim they won’t watch a single minute of Olympics in the next few weeks won’t be able to escape the fever once a new hero emerges.
Whether we want to admit it or not, it’s great looking at that medal tally each day and comparing Australia to other countries.
It’s also stupid in a way. Different countries spend different amounts on sport. Some countries will naturally be better at Olympic sports, but somehow that doesn’t seem to matter.
The Olympics, like the FIFA World Cup, creates those ‘where were you’ moments. Where were you when Cathy Freeman won gold? Where were you when Kieren Perkins won from lane eight?
It unites the country, unlike fractured football codes that seem to be determined by which state you live in.
The ‘where were you’ when the North Queensland Cowboys won the 2015 NRL grand final doesn’t work as well because most of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia didn’t care.
The Olympics has a novelty factor which refuses to wear off, no matter how cynical we might get about its importance.
We may all have sports we prefer watching, but wait for that first Australian gold medal and feel that patriotism take over.
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