Sochi

I love Olympics.  Even the Winter Olympics -- there's something I find so charming about them.  (I hate the X Games inspired "sports" and ice dancing, but that's why God created the remote.)  Whatever Olympics are on, I vegetate in front of the TV, that remote in hand, switching between the multi-channels.  I watch the early morning Olympics re-cap discussion shows, and the late-night broadcasts that show the events not considered interesting enough for the daylight or primetime hours.  Love, the love, the Olympics.  One of the thrills of my life was when the Olympics were in Los Angeles, and I got to go to so many events.

But much as I can't wait for the coming Winter Olympics to start in a week, the more I read about Sochi the more I'm holding my breath and wondering what in the world was the IOC thinking when they gave the Games to them??  (And no, graft and bribery isn't a good enough answer.)  The financial hit they're taking, the Russian politics towards gays, the thinking that goes into putting two toilets in one stall, the terrorist threat from Chechnya that's so nearby and more.

I wish it so well, but it has the markings of a disaster waiting to happen.  There have been a lot of Olympics that had the potential to be big problems, but they've tended not to be.  But that doesn't mean that that's a given things will be fine.  Nor does it mean there will be problems just because I'm concerned for them.  And for most of the potential problems I'm reading about they're things that will only affect the people there, not viewers.  (Though I wish everyone a great experience, because that carries over to the Games.)  So, to be clear, I'm not expecting problems.  But -- when there are a lot of yellow caution lights blinking at you, it does give one pause.