Olympian memories !!

I read this in the New York Times. That sounded a trifle odd. Why would a McDonalds promote China, when the audience is truly global. Perhaps the olympics is a bridgehead for these organisations to gain entry to the billion plus populace of China !

That set me thinking.

About my own ‘experiences’ with the olympics. The first olympics that i clearly remember following was the Olympics in Los Angeles, 1984 ! Then came Seoul in 1988. Those were games that we followed as ‘Olympic highlights’ shown as snippets for half an hour, every evening on Doordarshan. I remember cramming to finish studying to be able to watch these spots.

The Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and the Atlanta olympics in 1996 are very clear in my memory & there were portions of it that you could catch live. And the 2000 & 2004 ones are like yesterday ! If that leads you astray to believe that i have followed the games for the spirit of the game, you are only partly there.

To me, they stay in my mind because of various ‘events’ that have coincided with the games. Like a board exams, ‘friendships’, aspirations, realities, state of the nation at that time, the smell of the air, the new colour television set etc.

So, as much as the olympics represent sporting triumph, they also symbolise a passage of time. An ageing process. From the hockey debacles to PT Usha finsihing fourth, to the tennis gold medals, to Ben Johnson and his doping to Carl Lewis and so on ! All stay ever green.

And i realise that four years from now there would be more head and lesser hair. And hopefully an optimal health and a greater connectedness with the world. Four years on, i hope to come back to this post, and still stay connected to you !!

The olympics, to an ardent Indian, can come in handy. Even if it means a lack of medals & a podium finish, they help you keep track of time. So forget the medals. that India ( or your country) didnt win! Ensure you dive in & save up memories ! They sure come in handy !

4 thoughts on “Olympian memories !!

  1. HOBO says:

    Yaadein yaad aati hai…

  2. Carnic says:

    how true…how true…for me itsa bit more because my dad is a basketball & handball coach. we had always followed sports very very closely over the years….

  3. dinu says:

    they are trying in win Chinese customers for sure.. see how huge the market is !!!

  4. Shiva says:

    Looks like, all the sport in the games are gone and now it’s all about media and marketing….

    May be it’s been the same from start..I remember, even the 1988 one with Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson’s dash involved lot of media and marketing…

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