Hartford Courant: Can the Nationalistic Medal Count for Athens 2004

[zls44]

Sounds like a good idea, hey lets NOT piss off the rest of the world by saying WE WANT 100 MEDALS DAMMIT.

"The resolve is admirable. Terrorists have no place among nations. They wave no flag except one of cowardice. Yet America's Olympic movement also must not be blind to the fact that, thanks to the Iraqi quagmire, we are seen by too much of the world as the global bully. In 1964, the time was right for medal counts against the Soviet Union. Forty years later, the time is right for ratcheting down steroid nationalism. We can still win and win big without going cowboy. Why not drop the medal count? Why doesn't someone come up with an outfit for the Americans to wear away from the field of play in Athens? Something that would incorporate goodwill and peace. In the cradle of the Olympic movement, why not let it be us who bend over backward to extend international friendship? In her last Olympics, there's nothing Mia Hamm, who is looking at starting a family, can do to stop terrorism in Athens. But maybe there's something she can do to help plant a seed so bin Laden's son will not want to blow up her and Nomar's daughter at the 2028 Olympics."

http://www.ctnow.com/hc-jeffcol0515.artmay15,1,6784567.column?coll=hc-utility-home