Letters to the President #1284: 'Olympic fever'

Reporter's Note: President Obama gets a letter from me each day. I have yet to receive a reply, but I’m pretty sure this could be the week.

Dear Mr. President,

Well, it has happened already, and I never would have expected it. I have Olympic fever.

I was not sure it would happen this time around. Over the years, I have become a gold medal cynic when it comes to the Five Circle Games. The steadily growing role of professional athletes has spoiled the so called “amateur” contests for me a bit. I often find myself thinking back to the days when I was a child and the competitors were…well, they were pretty much professionals back then too, but at least they hid it better.

Anyway, I was all set to be less than enthralled by this summer’s games, and yet this afternoon I stumbled across one of the soccer matches on TV, and before I knew it I was hooked. Of course I enjoy cheering on U.S. teams, but now I’ll probably watch any contest between any two nations.

I suppose part of it is the sheer uniqueness of it all. How many times a year can you find fencing, or rowing, or weightlifting, or ping pong even on ESPN 6? (Actually, I’m not sure there is an ESPN 6, but you get my point…) Some of my favorite Olympic moments usually revolve around some obscure contest I watch in the middle of the night, like fish tossing, or slap fighting.

And now I am poised once again to drink it all in. If I were President, I would be next to useless for the new few weeks. I’d hop Air Force One over to GB and go to every contest I could find. Probably not the best plan for the nation, but I sure would enjoy it.

Call if you can.

Regards,
Tom