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The Olympic Games: Mirror of Our World (La Stampa, Italy)

"China is the new empire ushering in an Asian century. America stands fast, with her space lab Curiosity landing on Mars and her Martian basketball dream team. Behind them, new entries made their debut: Egypt took the podium in fencing, Venezuela and South Korea made good showings, as did the tiny Caribbean isle of Grenada, which based on per capita population, took first place at the Games."

By Gianni Riotta

Translated By Rinald Meta

August 15, 2012

Italy - La Stampa - Original Article (Italian)

The anti-terrorist missiles on the roofs remained on alert but weren't fired, the crowds didn’t paralyze the trains of the Tube, and soldiers managed to replace the private bodyguards who stayed home. Television spots and the sponsors didn’t overshadow the sweat of the athletes. London, with her gothic St. Pancras Station, pubs that continue to serve awful food, and the British Museum empty thanks to the  excessive appeals of Mayor Johnson about how “The city will be overrun!” And the shops of Tottenham and Brixton, completely repainted after the August 2011 riots, were a magnificent backdrop to the Games, as they were in 1908 and 1948.

The 2012 Olympics will end tonight, and we'll see if the organizers give us a show as fascinating as the July 27 opening, with Bond girl Queen Elizabeth II, the “Dark Satanic mills” of capitalism and celebration of Britain's National Health Service. Some of us admired Usain Bolt’s arrogant exultation in the style of Achilles, "I'm a living legend;” and others preferred Kenian David Rudisha, who, with the modesty of a Hector, broke all 800 meter records. We’ve seen athletes at the London Games being expelled for making one tweet too many, and the debut of delegations from Islamic countries with women complete with Muslim headscarves. The first medals for women's boxing were awarded. We saw an amputee athlete in the 4x400 finals. There were many multi-ethnic teams from South Africa to Italy. A Somali refugee who fled civil war in Mogadishu won gold for his adopted Great Britain. And our confused, bankrupt, violent, technological, global and ambitious 21st century was a protagonist in every event.

Reflected in the mirror of the Games we see the playing out of contemporary good and evil, each nation a piece of the present-day kaleidoscope. Italy was radiant with victory, from archery to fencing. The usual good old, salt of the earth, hard working people of Italy of showed their talent. On the on hand, she diminished her prestige with the doping case of walker Alex Schwazer - the usual bad old despicable intrigues of those who cheat to hide their lack of talent. The experts will draw their own conclusions on track and field, the flop of Federica Pellegrini and the swimming team's talk show by the pool, and the fast-flowing gold of Kayaker Daniele Molmenti, who will carry the flag tonight at the Olympic Stadium. In athletics we had no lightning, nor from the tough boxers from the rings of south Marcianise. Our gold medal count keeps us in the G10 of sports, a bit like the economy, €1.9 trillion in public debt, €900 billion in private wealth. We are as rich and poor when it comes to budgets as we are at staying in the midst of the five Olympic circles; we are ranked high even as other member states prove themselves better: we have no budgets, no sports activity in schools, no serious programs, no public-private partnerships. We are going to drop in the ranks.

Italian triple-jumper Fabrizio Donato: He took the bronze in London.

Great Britain has won for coming in third in gold medals behind global powers China and the United States. But Britain won another prize that was far more important to her: The British identity is now more precisely understood by the  consciousness of the world. China is the new empire ushering in an Asian century. America stands fast, with her space lab Curiosity landing on Mars and her Martian basketball dream team. Behind them, new entries made their debut: Egypt took the podium in fencing, Venezuela and South Korea made good showings, as did the tiny Caribbean isle of Grenada, which based on per capita population, took first place at the Games. Jamaica celebrated a half century of independence with Bolt & Blake. Should financial reports deal with dollars, euros or yuan?

Well, the pound of her British Majesty has let the world know that her glories did not end with the 19th century. One generation was reminded of England's cricket bowler's hat, V for Victory and Churchill’s cigar, five o’clock tea and the Empire. Another was torn between the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and hippies, another cheered the economy of Thatcher or Tony Benn’s Labour party. The younger ones, playing tunes by the Clash, dreamed of or hated Blair’s New Left. But the Games carved a new English identity into the consciousness of cyber space. Big Ben strikes, the democracy of Westminster legislates, the royalty of Buckingham Palace rejoices, the New Great Britain - “Team GB” - in the language of the fan - multiethnic, electronic, neither American nor European, no longer imperial but able to recruit athletes from across the globe, mother of the lingua franca of the Olympic village, has reintroduced itself to the world. The hosts say "we are ancient, we have modernized, but we are still our old selves, only with more color, more voices, and a long, painful and magnificent history."

Much about the Olympics remains to be improved. Politicians, sponsors and polemists still make a din, access to tickets should be less Kafkaesque, doping should be eliminated, and, let us hope, the punishment of athletes by dictatorships, Syrian and North Korean among others, will be less acute four years from now.

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But the Games remain the greatest village festival of our world, the town parade of our strengths and weaknesses, a global gaggle where all of us walk and root for our city quarter. As in a medieval horse race of Planet Earth, we envy the successes and strength of others. Once home again we learn the techniques we didn’t know before, and we refine them. It is called progress.

Many children watched Bolt boast on TV, a nearly 50-year-old Josefa Idem still competing, American Manteo Mitchell finishing his segment of the 4x400 relay with a broken leg; “It hurt so bad ... but I didn't want to let the team down.”

They are inspired, not to buy food or drink, but to compete, train, work hard, knuckle down, and demonstrate good sportsmanship. A handful will climb the podiums of the future. The rest will remember the lessons of London during the normal routine at the office and everyday lives.

Let the cynics and snobs laugh at this tradition. For those who care about the world, sports, community, sincere feeling, emotion, passion, commitment, brotherhood, competition and heartfelt loyalty, for all of us: until we meet again in Rio de Janeiro 2016! (and Go Azzurri!) [Italy's national football team].