It Might Get Ugly for Americans

It is three months until the Olympics, and the main topic of discussion has little to do with games. Talk centers on whether we will get bombed and whether we will get booed.

We, of course, are the United States, the 800-pound gorilla of the Olympic movement. Actually, the 800-pound gorilla, period.

With the opening ceremony in Athens set for Aug. 13, the gorilla is struggling to figure out just how to approach this big party. Should we be afraid to go in the first place, and if we do, what should we wear? How should we act? And should we make eye contact on the street?

How do we tell the Olympic world that pole vaulters and swimmers don’t invade countries and then abuse their prisoners, but that pole vaulters and swimmers are proud to live in, and compete for, the country that did?

Is there any line left between sports and politics, or are we naive to think there ever was?

This is a weekend set aside by the U.S. Olympic Committee for a media summit here, a pre-Games gathering that provides access to athletes and issues. Sadly, issues are likely to dominate.

The most-asked question will contain the “S” word. Security. The most-discussed issue will not be how fast to run or how high to jump, but whether it will be safe to do so; indeed, whether it is even prudent to show up to make the attempt.

Bill Martin is the athletic director at the University of Michigan and also the president of the USOC. Unlike many of his predecessors in that position, Martin is both aware and candid. He knows, in light of Iraq, Abu Ghraib prison and current world sentiment, that the American team will enter Athens like Little Red Riding Hood going into the woods.

“We are not the favorite kid in the world right now,” Martin said. “I had a very high [International Olympic Committee] member tell me recently that we need to realize that the rest of the world doesn’t want us on top, it only wants us on tap, meaning nearby, when there is an ugly little crisis somewhere on the globe, where it is then up to us to fix it, to go in there, do the dirty work, put our young men and women on the line.”

USOC officials said the goal is to win 100 medals in Athens. They also said, without using these exact words, that this could very well be, for American athletes, a grim-faced, dressed-down Olympics.

Larry Brown, USA basketball coach, was asked Friday if he thought his team of NBA players, who come from an environment of frequent hot-dogging, taunting and self-congratulation, would understand the need to tone down boorish behavior.

“I would hope so,” Brown said. “ ... We have a responsibility to act like gentlemen. We have an opportunity -- sport gives us a wonderful opportunity -- to help people understand that this country is pretty neat, pretty special. I’m confident that we’ll understand, that we’ll be responsible.”

Flag-waving and celebratory chest-thumping have become a way of life for many American athletes. It is not a new concept. As long ago as 1984, Carl Lewis grabbed a flag from a fan and circled the Los Angeles Coliseum track after one of his medal performances. As recently as 2000, members of a USA track relay team celebrated a gold medal in Sydney by wrapping themselves in huge American flags and posing and posturing long after the race had ended and the exuberance seemed appropriate.

What percentage of this is sincere joy and genuine patriotism, rather than a desire to get on “SportsCenter,” is difficult to gauge.

That won’t matter for the rest of the world, which may very well view USA athletes in mathematical terms: Iraq plus chest-thumping equals ugly American.

Athens has budgeted $1.2 billion to provide a safe environment for athletes to compete and fans to enjoy. That’s close to the entire projected cost for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

USOC officials are pondering situations they never imagined before.

Jim Scherr, former Olympic wrestler and current USOC chief executive, said, with the clarity of presentation of a man who had thought about it, “We are not asking our team not to wear their USA uniforms away from the venues.”

Also on the USOC panel was Larry Buendorf, head of security for the USOC. He didn’t say much, and when the panel ended, the press was asked to limit any further questions for Buendorf to the next few minutes because, after that, he would need to “go back to work.”

Meaning, there are athletes here for interviews who need to be protected.

In the middle of New York.

In a huge hotel.

Three months before the Olympics begin.

So, this is how it is, May 2004. The Olympics are supposed to be fun and games. Right now, they feel like neither.