After American swimmer Mark Spitz broke seven world records en route to his record seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, he was flown home to America for being Jewish in Germany. It was decided that keeping Spitz in Munich for the duration of the Olympics was too great a risk, considering that the morning after Spitz's seventh gold medal, terrorists had murdered two Israeli Olympians for being Jewish in Germany, and taken nine others hostage.
Perhaps the greatest individual performance in Olympic history happened at those Olympic games. Seven races, seven world records, seven gold medals. Regrettably, though, the 1972 Olympics in Munich are known for giving the games their darkest hour. The Munich Massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches overshadowed the grandest stage in athletics that year. Munich should have been known as the city where Spitz outpaced the world, but instead it's known for tainting the Olympic spirit with astounded grief.
So as patrols of spy vans circle Athens this summer, and as $1.5 billion of security measures ensure the safety of our world-class athletes, we're left wondering where the story is in the 2004 Olympic Games. Is Michael Phelps' drive to tie Spitz's medal count secondary to the looming threat of terrorism, or should the Olympic spirit of amateur competition and sportsmanship trump our collective fears? Do we follow the games, or what threatens to ruin them?
No matter where the primary plot line rests, we know for certain that the spirit of the 2004 Olympics is demeaned by our planet's geopolitical affairs. The world's most pure celebration of the human will is considered a target this summer, and for that, the spirit of the Olympic games is being unfairly diminished.
The world needn't be waiting for another Munich Massacre. If we shift our focus from sportsmanship to fear, we endanger the very spirit that has urged nations to set aside their differences for two weeks every four years. Don't expect fear to overpower the Olympic spirit - it's fighting an insurmountable enemy.
