In praise of ...Winter Olympics 2014 This article is more than 10 years oldIn praise of … Olympian calm
This article is more than 10 years oldEditorialThe BBC commentators who whooped with delight were hardly the first to cross over the line from enthusiasm to excessThe ancient Olympic Games were a cutthroat affair. The competitors' home states were even sometimes at war with one another as the athletes contended, so we can imagine that comment was barbed. Partiality has marked the modern Olympics, too. Ever since the Games were revived, many participants, fans and observers have illogically combined an intense desire for their nation to win with a belief that the Games are an antidote to nationalism and a force for peace. So the BBC commentators who whooped with delight when an American competitor in the snowboard event took a bad fall and then dissolved in tears when Jenny Jones took the bronze "for Britain", as the saying goes, were hardly the first to cross over the line from enthusiasm to excess. Still, there was something distasteful about it. It took away from the grace with which these extraordinary sportswomen flew through the air. Hang on, folks, it's only a game.
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