The opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver took place on Friday, Feb. 12 in a display that clearly showed the pride and excitement of the Canadian people. The excitement was not lost on the analyst of NBC who have been covering the first six days of the games with relentless care.
The excitement has also been shared by the fans and athletes of the game which is apparent by the pure bliss visible in the tears shed by Lindsey Vonn’s after she won gold in downhill skiing on a recently injured shin last night. Tears of pain? Maybe. Tears of passion? No doubt.
So with the passion of the Canadian people and the athletes and the millions of dollars spent by Canada and NBC to make sure the rest of the world would not miss out on these special moments, the question is where has the interest of the average fan gone? The truth is that other than on television the passion for the Winter Games seems to be, well, meager and uninspired.
It is unusual that Americans, especially in the South, who spend so much passion and energy on sports do not actually care about one of the few global sporting events. Have Americans become sporting isolationist or are amateur sports too low quality for this money-drenched country? The truth cannot be that Americans have become apathetic about world sports, but then what explains peoples’ indifference to these sacred games.
The hope is that the next eleven days with be filled with students talking about the amazing performances of these world athletes in between class or that the low hum of the Student Union dining area with consist mostly of debate and conversation of what Shaun White did the night before or how well Apolo Anton Ohno will do in his next race. It is the Olympics and the feats of these athletes are worth the attention Canada and the athletes desire. It always has been, so just turn the channel to Vancouver and consider it has being cultured in a rich tradition of passion.

This editorial was written by Michael Wilson (mhwilson@valdosta.edu) and it expresses the opinion of the entire editorial staff.