In a few months, the Olympic Games will be upon us again and millions of people around the world will be watching the many sporting events that make up the Olympics. Right now, we are treated to the spectacle of the Olympic Torch traveling around the world on its way to Beijing for the opening of the games in August.

This year’s games are very controversial because of China’s human rights record and because of China’s policy towards Tibet. So, in the last few days we have seen protesters doing all kinds of things as the Olympic Torch passes through various cities around the world. When it passed through London on Sunday (where the Olympics will be held in 2012), we were all treated to the spectacle of the flame been surrounded by Chinese security goons and many British police. This was still not enough to prevent many people from having a go at putting out the flame, which included one guy who tried to use a fire extinguisher on it. I honestly don’t think the British, Chinese, or the Olympic authorities realize just how ridiculous they look. At the end of the day, these games are not really about the sport, it is about spending lots of money so that a very few people can get rich.

In the last 20 years, we have seen the over commercialization of the games and media companies bickering over who has the rights to screen the games on TV. As often happens, the cost of these games is going to be placed on those who can least afford it and, for those cities that choose to host these games, it often means hosting them at a huge loss. One only has to look at Montreal in 1976 or Athens in 2004 to see what the finanical consequences of the games can be. For the life of me, I do not understand why these games are so important. They are painfully boring and consist of an elite group of people competing over a few medals. Today, the games are pretty much professional, so those involved make lots of money. This was not what the games were supposed to be about. I really don’t see what the fuss is about and, of course, I will not be watching any of the Olympics.