So the blokes in charge of the London games call, and you’ve won a free pass to as many scheduled events as you’d like to attend. (No, really. You don’t have to send your credit card number, bank account, mother’s maiden name, or a processing fee to a PO Box in Nigeria.)
What matches, meets, sports, games, or events would you attend? What is it about your chosen activities that you enjoy?
Me, I’m not big on the Olympics, especially the summer games. I’m not interested in most of the Olympic sports when they’re otherwise competed, so I don’t see much reason to get excited about them quadrennially. I wouldn’t attend either opening or closing ceremonies. I’d skip anything where the winners are determined by subjective judging and not an objective score. Those participants are definitely athletes, but my opinion is that a sport has a defined objective scoring system; judging is for arts.
I don’t think Americans get as excited about the games as we used to. Before the ’80s, the Olympics were the only thing on TV for two weeks. You watched them because the other two networks didn’t even bother counter-programming. I think US sports fans are more interest in their local professional or college teams. There are enough rivalries within those conferences and divisions, and so little international participation by those teams, that US fans don’t have much reason to be interested at an international level. That big rivalry with the Soviets isn’t there any more.
Maybe I’d attend badminton matches. I played that for a while in my teenage years.
EDIT – I watched what was on ESPN’s SportCenter, if I happened to have it on. That was maybe two or three times during the games.