I love sports, so it only makes sense that I love the Olympics. And I do! It's a fortnight of the worlds best athletes facing off against each other in all kinds of events.
And it's Olympics time!
But- I do have my issues with the Olympics, especially this year. And instead of just getting complaining, I'm going to offer a solution as well.
Why we shouldn't be having Rio 2016:
Zika Virus- Brazil is in South America, which is the epicenter of the Zika outbreak. Recently, Zika got a lot of press because of an outbreak. It's kind of dropped out of the news cycle with the elections, but it's still a problem. With the Olympics, millions of people are going to Brazil to watch the games. People will get infected. They will unknowingly take their infections home with them. Then they will get bitten by another mosquito, or have sex, and more people will get the virus. Zika would have probably proliferated to other mosquito-friendly areas eventually, but the Olympics will expedite the process significantly. Heck, it may just mean that somebody finds a cure sooner. But it's still a public health nightmare.My solution: cancel the games. I love them, but it should be done. And this isn't even considering the quality of the water for long-distance swimming/sailing/rowing, or all of the protesters and widespread poverty.
Olympics in general- Every four years, we have the games, which I really enjoy watching. It's everything around the games that's the issue. First of all, I bet the IOC is just as corrupt as FIFA. Second, it costs SO much to organize the Olympics. First there's the whole application and selection process. Then, the build starts. The host needs to build tons of housing, stadiums, and surrounding infrastructure, all for just a couple weeks of frenzy. Yes, it brings in tourists, and can create jobs. But it almost always leaves the country worse off, with unused stadiums and in incredible amounts of debt. My solution: Have the (summer) games in Greece, every time. They originated in Greece. Greece already has some infrastructure from Athens 2004. But with an initial investment, they would then have the influx of money every four years, and they really need it because last time I checked, they were in serious economic trouble. Instead of building so much excess, leave the Olympics in their country of origin and lets build together.
