Thus Endeth Another Winter Olympics

[Maitre]

But that is the problem, they are most definitely NOT just that, just games, just sports.  Like it or not, they are political in origin.  For non-political games, there are various world championships, leagues, etcetera, that are purer as sports go. 
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As an economics instructor of mine used to remind us, there are two types of statements: normative and (something I can't remember). One is about the way things are, and one is about the way things should be. This statement was his favorite way to avoid arguments in class about the benefits of capitalism, or some such thing that the guy in the back corner would suddenly pipe up about as being "unfair." I guess the way I see the Olympic competition is the way I'd like to believe it is. I think sometimes we see the things we want to see: yes, guilty, I close my eyes to political overtones, and see mostly the athletic competition at the Olympics.

If I want to see useless politics, I'll look at the UN Security Council, or closer to home, the vice presidents office (still imagining Cheney walking over to the "This office: Shooting free for" sign, erasing the 38K+ days, and writing the big 0 up in its place).