[Mb-civic] 'Olympic Swagger' from The Nation

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   Olympic Swagger 
   by William Greider


Am I the only one who feels creepy when the American crowds start
chanting U-S-A! U-S-A! at the Olympics? The chant has a bullying
tone that sounds like America über alles. The boasting
reminds me of certain newspaper columnists who keep explaining that the
rest of the world hates us because we are so good. Rich and powerful,
good-hearted and reasonable, also citizens of the world-champion
democracy. Plus, we produce a race of superhero athletes.

Americans are marinated in this self-congratulation. The Olympics have
been converted by NBC and commercial marketing into a cheap jingo melodrama.
During the build-up to the finals, the network gins up endless loops of
slo-mo video to tell sentimentalized tales of athletes who've survived
childhood hardship and overcome family strife. The flag is flourished
at the triumphant moment, the winners bathed in tears for the deceased
parent or the triumph over adversity as they claim the gold. Am I the
only American who wants to puke in embarrassment?

We might pause to reflect on why Americans evidently feel such a
desperate hunger for confirmation of national greatness (do they
perhaps harbor doubts?). But this time around, the question was mooted
by the disappointing results. No U-S-A! chanting in Turin. Lots
of "broken dreams," as the sports talkers put it. US athletes did fine,
actually, but nearly every one of the concocted melodramas went bust.

A New York Times headline described the outcome, somewhat
cheekily, as a blow to "US swagger." Yes, the United Swagger of America
is our chosen posture in the world, and once again it seems that sport
imitates life. The United States is getting the swagger knocked out of
it elsewhere in the world--it would be tasteless to mention where--and
many Americans are in a foul mood, denied their fix of symbolic
national triumph, in play and at war. Poor, pitiful America, so good
and yet so misunderstood.

Bode Miller, the
world-champion skier, embodied this failure. He enjoyed the biggest,
most swaggering pregame buildup and became the most embarrassing flop.
Appropriately enough, Nike
was among his commercial sponsors. It is the brand name for American
swagger. In the five events Miller was supposed to win, he straddled a
gate and flamed out or finished far behind. The media turned on him,
reported that he appeared overweight and out of breath, even whispered
he might have a drinking problem.

Bode Miller seemed vainglorious in defeat--waving to the crowds and
announcing, unconvincingly, that he was happy with his results. The
medals never mattered, he told the skeptical reporters. He wanted his
life instead. It occurred to me that, whatever troubles him, Miller
might very well be telling the truth. He is a brilliant skier, after
all. I began to think maybe he was trying clumsily to free himself from
the trademark of hype and swagger that enveloped him and, who knows,
just be a skier. Or maybe I am naïve. A few minutes later, a Nike
commercial was aired with this tough-guy message: The medals didn't
matter.



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