An international disaster

Right now we are in the midst of a bit of a lull in the American sports calendar. The NBA and NHL seasons are over, NFL training camps have yet to begin, and Major League Baseball is still pre-All Star break, so baseball games are not yet in the national spotlight. So right now, the national spotlight is really on soccer and tennis, and that is very unusual in the United States. The Copa America tournament ended last night in wild fashion, the European soccer tournament just reached the knockout stage, and Wimbledon is now officially underway. It is a time that is just begging for something in the sports world to grab our attention, and if we look a little closer, then we can find just that, but we need to pay attention to it for all the wrong reasons.

The Olympics used to be an event that united the world, even if it were only for one month every couple years. I will always believe that the World Cup is the sporting event that unifies worldwide attention more than any other, but the Olympics should be second. Whether it is the summer or winter games, I have never been an Olympic fanatic, but it is always a nice break from the sports we normally enjoy in this country.

Everyone knows about the "Dream Team" in the early 1990's and the impact it had on basketball throughout the world. An all-star team of American basketball players demolishing international foes may not have seemed especially significant at the time, but since then we have seen the game of basketball grow exponentially on a worldwide scale and in the long run, the Dream Team has been something that benefitted the game of basketball. No longer is the game just full of Americans, but the NBA is now full of players from throughout the world. Hockey has always been at the forefront in the Olympics as well, as the NHL has become infused with talent from all over the world that we can watch compete for national pride at the Olympics once every four years.

It is great to watch basketball and hockey in the Olympics but, at least in my opinion, the best thing about the Olympics is being able to watch sports that we never see on a daily basis. The winter games are known for the bobsled, the luge, ski jumping, speed skating, and what I really enjoyed watching two years ago, the biathlon, which combines skiing and, of all things, rifle shooting. The competitors cross-country ski with rifles on their backs, then get down on their stomachs and try to hit targets with those rifles, and continue to alternate between the two over the length of the course. I was enthralled by it because of how unique it was. While I was always cheering for the American contestants, I just enjoyed watching the event because it was something we never get to see at any time other than during the Olympics.

Those were the Winter Olympics. The summer games should be the same way. Michael Phelps came to fame for his swimming prowess during international events, and it is only because of the summer games that I know about things like the breaststroke or the butterfly, and I think that most Americans feel the same way. Sure, it might be nice to watch our basketball team destroy its opponents, but I would venture to guess that at least 99% of NBA fans would rather see their favorite team win an NBA title than see the American basketball team win a gold medal. When it comes to NBA players, I think they feel the same way. LeBron James did not break down into tears when he won a gold medal like he did when he led the Cavaliers to an NBA title. Other Olympic sports that include professional players are the same way. I am sure that most any tennis player would prefer a win at Wimbledon more than an Olympic gold medal. A professional golfer would trade a gold medal for a green jacket in a minute. I don't tune in to the Olympics to see LeBron James or Rory McIlroy or Andy Murray compete. I tune in to watch those athletes in the biathlon or the speed skaters or the bobsled teams filled with names I do not know. That is the reason why the Olympics that are just over a month away have the potential to be an international disaster.

When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chooses the sites for its games, there are many factors that they need to take into account. Do the sites have the means to host a worldwide event? That means a stable infrastructure, a workforce that can handle any construction needs, an ability to handle the accommodation of all of the athletes, media, and fans that come along with the event, and many other things.

Rio de Janeiro was selected by the IOC as the site for the 2016 games after a vote in 2009. Despite what, at the time, seemed like some small questions about the capability of the city to host a worldwide event, it was still years down the road. Brazil is a country more than capable of taking on a worldwide audience (it hosted the 2014 World Cup), so at the time of the vote, it seemed like Rio would be a worthy city to host the games. However, along the way, a few things happened, and now with just over a month to go until the opening ceremonies, Rio is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

As I said before, when I get alerts on my phone that LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Stephen Curry have decided not to play in the Olympics, it does not bother me at all. If the best NBA players decide to pass on the Olympics right after they finish a long and grueling NBA season, it does nothing to dissuade me from watching the games. The American "B squad" could easily win a gold medal, and with guys like Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Kyrie Irving still deciding to play, we will not even be sending a "B squad" to the games. It will be more like an "A- squad." The Olympics are not for the professional basketball players. They are for the athletes in other events in which the peak of their career is an Olympic gold medal. That means the American fencing teams, the American rowing teams, the American water polo teams. The athletes on those teams are the ones to which the Olympics mean the most. The athletes on those teams are the ones that work their entire lives to play in Rio on the world's biggest stages.

So with all of that said, this is where it is time to focus on Rio and its preparation, or lack thereof, as the 2016 Olympic host. The controversies that have already begun before the games have even begun are many, and I will give the city the benefit of the doubt in some of those cases. The Zika virus is what is probably the most known problem when it comes to the upcoming games. This disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, is usually never fatal, but it has been, and will continue to be, a major factor in the decision of athletes, fans, and members of the media to attend these games.

The fact that anyone attending these games needs to worry about such a disease is bad enough, but when you look a bit deeper into the details of the virus, it only gets worse. The virus usually will cause something similar to the effect of food poisoning in those who contract it. Unpleasant? Yes. Something warranting consideration by potential Olympic medalists? Absolutely not.

Even worse is the long term effects of the Zika virus, which include damage to an unborn fetus. Olympic athletes are usually within the age range of those planning on having children in the somewhat near future, and this is why the Zika virus really comes to the forefront. The next summer games will not come around until 2020. By then, it is likely that many of these athletes will, for one reason or another, be either unwilling or unable to compete. Maybe it will be due to age. Maybe it will be due to familial responsibilities. Maybe it will be due to any other type of limitation. This may sound like a very pessimistic point of view, but for many of these athletes, 2016 will be their only chance to reach the peak of their athletic careers. The fact that both women and men (who can transmit the disease sexually) even have to take this risk into consideration is not something we need to be worried about one month before these games begin.

However, unlike what I may be using as a pessimistic platform, I am still willing to give the city of Rio the benefit of the doubt. Obviously, no country or city can anticipate the onset of a disease transmitted by insects, but the fact that it did happen is still a massive concern. If the virus were the only cause for concern, then in my mind, despite my better judgement, Rio still gets a pass. Nevertheless, the Zika virus is only the beginning.

Another log that has already been thrown on to the fire occurred earlier this year when the governor of Rio was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This, even more so than the recession and the onset of the virus, can be explained as another unforeseen scenario. Following this, 81 year old Francisco Dornelles was appointed as the acting governor and was thrust into a role that I am sure he had no expectation of assuming. Again, I will do my best to give the city of Rio, and the country of Brazil, the benefit of the doubt. However, that is where my sympathy ends.

In recent days, Dornelles spoke to the press about what he thought could be major problems for the upcoming games, and described the situation as potentially calamitous. As I said before, Rio has known that it will be hosting these games for seven years now. For that reason, I feel that some of the problems they still have not addressed are inexplicable and unforgiveable. The first of those problems is the lack of public transportation to and from the sites of the games. Dornelles admitted that money that was supposed to be used to expand the metro lines was never found, and that people might have difficulties reaching some of the sites. He also admitted that, partly due to this, the security at the games will most likely not be sufficient in some places. To put it into his own words, "...without the security and without the Metro lines there will be difficulties." Really? I never would have guessed that with a lack of sufficient transportation to and from the Olympic sites that security forces would have a hard time doing their jobs!

Finally, what prompted me to write this piece and what really caught my attention when it came to this topic was the water conditions in and around Rio. As I stated earlier, events like rowing and sailing and the pentathlon are in large part unique to the summer Olympics. When is the last time you watched rowing on television or even wondered at all about rowing in general? Most likely, the answer is never. That is what the Olympics are for. Every four years, these men and women who devote years and years of their lives to these sports have their one moment to shine in front of the world, and right now, we are about a month away from that moment. The city of Rio should be proud to provide such a stage. However, the city is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It is absolutely embarrassing itself.

As a city prepares to showcase itself on the world stage, it owes not only itself, but its inhabitants and its government, the benefit of the doubt that it will shine as brightly as possible while the world watches. All you have to do is look up the conditions of the water in and around Rio, and you will see first hand that the city has utterly failed in its responsibility to do that.

The water conditions are absolutely atrocious. Schools of fish are washing up dead on the shores. Garbage, that literally includes baby dolls and living room couches, are floating in the water. Scientists are saying that while the conditions may not actually be deadly for humans, they are certainly riddled with viruses. The disorder that surrounds the water conditions are beyond awful. They are utterly dreadful, and to think that athletes from around the world will actually have to compete under such conditions is disgraceful.

Athletes involved in water sports are talking about taking "simple" precautions. Those precautions involve wearing specialized suits and goggles to avoid any and all contact with the contaminated water. They involve encapsulating water bottles in order to avoid them coming into contact with any water outside their boats or kayaks or canoes. How can the city of Rio think this is acceptable?

These rowers and swimmers and sailors have spent their entire lives training for this moment. They have no business having to consider such deplorable conditions on top of the pressure they already will have to face.

I give many of these athletes credit for attempting to take these conditions in stride, but at the same time, I want to question their judgement. It is because of conditions like this that I find absolutely no fault at all with professional golfers or basketball players when they choose to bypass this shot at winning an Olympic gold medal. However, it is also tough to hold any grudge with other athletes that see this as their only chance at glory.

The chances of myself and anyone that agrees with me actually affecting the IOC executives is miniscule at best. In all honesty, I will probably watch many of the upcoming Olympic events, even if it is just to see how bad the conditions will be for some of the competitors. The fact that these people will have to deal with attention like this for all the wrong reasons is completely unfair to them though.

I will be keeping an eye on the medal count this coming August, but I will also harbor a resentment for the IOC when I watch these games. It may not make a scintilla of a difference on the selection of future hosts of the Olympic games, but I just hope that getting the word out about the reprehensible conditions in Rio can enlighten someone out there.

Daily Diamondbacks Update: Former Diamondback Mark Reynolds hit a bomb of a walk off homerun yesterday to beat us in Colorado. Hopefully tonight will be better as a struggling Phillies team visits the desert. Right now the focus needs to be on winning individual series', and I think that can happen against Philadelphia.

Daily Giants Update: Most prognostications I have come across have crowned a healthy Dallas team as the upcoming NFC East champions, but with the nature of the NFL, we all know that health is the greatest of equalizers. We are still a few weeks from training camp though, so all is positive in 32 NFL cities, and that includes the team in blue at Met Life Stadium.

Daily NBA/NHL Update: Drafts have just been completed, and we are about as far away from the opening of the season as we will ever get. Any offseason news has the possibility to be significant, but there is nothing to report on that front right now in either league.