Let's Go Back to the Good Ole Days

The Greeks, who placed a considerable amount of honor in speed and strength, started the Olympic games as a way to peacefully bring together different peoples to compete and exhibit their physical prowess. The original Olympic games were not the national showcases they are today. Athletes used to compete as individuals, not as part of a national team. This was because of the Greeks’ emphasis on excellence and glory achieved through extraordinary performances in these games. The pressure to win then was no less than it is now. The athletes in ancient times placed much virtue in honesty and fairness. If a competitor cheated, he was fined and immortalized in Greek history as a cheater, so say these very smart people from Tufts University. Suffice it to say, cheating was rare in these initial games.

The ideal of fair competition for personal glory is no longer a part of the Modern Olympics. As time went on, the meaning of the Olympic games drastically evolved from what the Greeks intended, and not in a good way. Personal glory has been replaced with national glory in today’s Olympic games. The focus of the modern games is beating other nations, winning at any cost, and broadcasting to the world how rich and prosperous a nation is. Athletes can cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs. Nations can cheat by bribing judges. They cheat because they want to win. They want to win not just because winning sends a message to other nations that one is superior, but it breeds in the minds of foreigners that another country is prosperous, stable, and physically better.

Now I have always been a fan of the Greeks and their crazy ideas. They wore togas and competed like real men (excuse the expression, ladies). What a noble way to live! If we ran our lived by the Greek philosophy of honor, we would need one prison for the entire country. We would never have to worry about drug testing our professional athletes. Those same athletes would not expect million of unearned dollars for their athletic feats. It would be a matter of glory, not income. Come on, people! Does this no sound lovely? I am not saying we should all get rid of our panties and wear togas and obsess over art. After all, their way of life did not last that long. But we should take the Greeks as an excellent example of how people should interact in competition. We should follow the spirit of fairness the Greeks exhibited.