While the Olympics bring excitement and a sense of national pride to America, they did bring some controversy to Great Britain. Besides the fact that the Olympic games were being held in London, the issue of how Team Great Britain would compete was heavily argued about.
It seems that many British have the opinion that Team GB should be split up and athletes should compete for their respective lands (England, Scotland, or Wales) instead. In all FIFA soccer events these countries compete individually from each other, yet they play as one in the Olympics. Now this does bring Great Britain more recognition, since their medal count is much higher, but is it worth it for these countries to give up their pride and heritage for more acclaim?
Yesterday, I discussed Team GB's recent surge of Olympic success with an English student. He commented that he really hadn't been into the games at all until his team started doing really well. I kindly reminded him that the real Red, White, and Blue was still way ahead. He laughed and said, "America and China don't count. Everyone knows they're going to be ahead. In my mind, we're in first place right now." These comments make me feel that for him at least, Olympic "success" is a relative term. Though I'm sure you'd have some people complain about the disadvantages of splitting GB in terms of a count, I think most would appreciate the more individualized recognition. The respective lands are extremely different and I'd never even considered the oppressed pride and heritage. Though I may not have a right to say, I personally think it's a great idea to create the three teams. As with many things in life, the general consensus is always quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really great that they are all competing as one team. In some ways, I wish there was a version of the Olympics where you competed as a continent. Just bringing together our entire country for one event is so unifying, can you imagine if we had to join together with the rest of our continent? The Olympics are great for bonding a country with one common goal that everyone shares and I think the more "togetherness" you can have, the better.
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