Olympic nationalism
Christopher Reed
At a low point during the opening cere- mony at the Coliseum here, as we reached Togo in the alphabetical march of 140 nations' Olympic teams, and Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe seemed as far away as they really were, the authentic voice of Stepney floated up from the concrete innards of the stadium where they sell draught Budweiser in pint-sized plastic cups. "Ere we are again,' sang the voice, appy as can be, all good friends, and jolly good company, whoops.' This unscheduled contribution to the XXIII Olympiad came from a British reporter who has become a legend not only in his own lunch-times, but supper - and even occasionally breakfast- time too. But it was an honest, heart-felt sentiment, and certainly in refreshing contrast to the cosmetic goings-on in the arena below, produced, directed and finan- ced by Hollywood, Disney, and big busi- ness, with sinister interludes from the nightmarish Los Angeles of Nathanael West. It was at least a spontaneous expres- sion of what the Olympics are supposed to be for: friendship. The nearest our US hosts came to this also happened, not coincidentally, before the sport began. It was at the party given for hundreds of journalists here, held be- side a swimming pool on the roof of a downtown hotel . As we gazed into a night sky framed by three cylindrical glass sky- scrapers, archetypal California golden girls glided by, as if in a dream, on the noiseless Wheels of their roller skates, serving beer from jugs. Black Americans played cool Jazz and people met and joked. The Rus- sians would have loved it, perhaps too well to have returned home.
American reality quickly intruded. 'Hey baby. America is back,' shouted the busi- nessman. 'Cantcha feel it?' Indeed we could, especially as the three television sets in the downtown bar had played the Star- spangled Banner for triumphant US athletes four times already. The anthem became a public nuisance. Relentless American nationalism was the dominant theme of these Games. Even if the Rus- sians were missing, their notorious chauvi- nism, was being matched. Nobody seemed to remember that the modern Games were revived 'to create friendships which will transcend the differences of geography, Politics, and language.'
ABC coverage by the US network, '}3C, quickly reached the level of hysteria, with commentators constantly referring to
t? and 'them'. The head of ABC Sports, Mr Roone Arledge, dismissed criticisms as
!, °Um rap'. Although he rightly explained inat foreigners were not receiving the do- mestically edited version, he failed to res-' pond to the more serious implication that ABC's promotion of the Games as proof of the superiority of the 'American way' was contrary to the Olympic spirit. Elsewhere the media message was even cruder. One radio commercial from Crazy Gideon, a Los Angeles appliance store, broadcast ads mocking the Soviet-led boycott, and offe- red 'Olympian' bargains, 'unless you're a pinko, then you'll get a sock on the jaw'. Not a challenge to be taken lightly in this town. McDonald's, an official Olympic sponsor, and unofficial host to the mas- sacre of 21 customers at one of its Southern California restaurants just before the Games opened, launched a give-away pro- motional: 'When America wins you win' it shouted, to the background of a crowd roaring 'USA, USA'.
Although the absence of the Warsaw Pact nations and Cuba made nonsense of sports such as women's swimming and dis- tance running, power events like the shot, and boxing, this was rarely mentioned. It would not have been churlish to do so, merely realistic, but one looked in vain for a hint of humility.
The mood was created during the weeks that a relay of volunteer runners carried the Olympic torch on a zigzag, 8,700-mile course across the USA. As President Rea- gan remarked in a pre-Olympic pep-talk to the US team, 'pride and patriotism flower- ed as the torch progressed through our great nation.' Yet the purpose of this rite of passage is to stress the international na- ture of the Games as the flames move from Greece through each country to the new Olympic host.
It is said that Mr Reagan wanted to reite- rate his patriotic theme at the opening ce- remony, but like some political leaders at other Olympics, was dissuaded. Olympic officials reminded him that the last leader to give such an address was Adolf Hitler at the Munich games in 1936. Instead, Mr Reagan stuck to the 17 official words of the opening declaration, but reversed the or- der of the two clauses. The ensuing publici- ty showed once more how cunning the old actor can be in wringing applause from the dullest lines.
While Americans were feeling proud about their pride, the immense security machine remained comparatively unobtru- sive. Well into the second week, it waited in vain for the arrival of the 'international terrorists' the LA police chief had been frothing about for so many months. The terror was, as always in this menacing city, out in the streets, and of a very home- grown variety. When a mentally deranged young driver deliberately mowed down 54 strollers, killing a girl of 15, it was said to be nothing to do with the Olympics, des- pite its occurrence on the eve of the open- ing. Technically this was true, but it was left to foreigners to discuss whether or not the Los Angeles police department had its priorities right in concentrating so much on the threat of violence from outsiders. There were the customary robberies, mug- gings and beatings of visiting foreigners, but the police chief announced, proudly of course, that crime was down. From where?
An insight was offered by the FBI man who declared the first day free from bank robberies in LA since 1979. This was quite an achievement in a city where concealed cameras once showed two thieves simulta- neously sticking up the same bank, un- aware of each other until they collided while running out of the same door.
The jolly good company celebrated at the opening was sadly brief. Unseemly be- haviour began almost at once. Fisticuffs broke out in an Italian-Egyptian football match and the Spanish and Uruguayan basketball teams began bouncing each other around the floor. A Swedish marks- man was booed for trying to take an extra shot, and a Jamaican sprinter — a fast lear- ner — hired a Los Angeles lawyer to sue his coach for dropping him from the team. A Swedish silver medallist was disqualified for taking drugs, and the French eight were unable to row because someone had sabo- taged their boat.
As is traditional, the Irish provided the light relief. They began by discovering they had been given H Block in the athletes' village. The fun continued next day when all the Irish sports writers' copy, thousands of words about obscure Irish boxers and equestrians, ticked up on the telex machine of a Rolls-Royce factory in East Anglia. The American operators had not bothered to distinguish the one digit call-sign diffe- rence between the UK and the Republic, and Rolls-Royce had the rest of the central dispersal number in Dublin.
To be sure, people had fun. They usually do at the Olympics. But it is doubtful if the Americans have done much to restore the sense of internationalism and fellowship remembered from earlier Games. The 1984 Games were far too nationalistic, too much an unremitting celebration of Ameri- can superiority. The new US mood of pa- triotic belligerence was shown by the choice of the national symbol, the bald eagle, as the bird to fly over the opening ceremony. It was ominously named Bom- ber, but died from stress a few days before its flight. One hopes that is not the only reason we got a few of the traditional doves instead.
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