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I'm boycotting the Olympic games.

I get a variety of reactions from others on my decision, most notably from people who know me best. My friends mostly view me as a type of jingoist, a flag waver, a defender of the faith;  So it confused them when I turned sour on the games.  My liberal friends, the ones who weep at the bravery of a candidate who doesn't wear a flag pin, or an athlete who turns his back during the National Anthem, are absolutely incensed that I won't watch the games.  Socialist logic, I guess.

The simple truth is I don't like the Olympics, and I like the Chinese government even less.  For me, this is not a case for compelling television.  Whenever I see the promotions for the games and for the city of Beijing, I feel like I'm watching an Asian version of a "Borat" movie trailer.  The weirdness of it all is surreal.  I saw a photo in the paper showing one of the Olympic swimming pools just fininshed being built.  To celebrate, the government allowed about five-thousand people to go "swimming."  You couldn't even see the water because of so many people.  It looked more like a King crab haul on "Deadliest Catch."  Creepy as hell.

Maybe I've been looking down my nose on people who've been preaching the end of the world for too long.  When I look at the disaster that is the country of China, and the billion-plus people who inhabit it, I see it.  I see the end of the world.  It's an absolute calamity, and for me to become a cheerleader for the Olympic committee, screaming U.S.A.! U.S.A! to make myself feel better, well, its just not going to happen.  Beijing should have never been awarded the games.

Then there is the coverage of the games themselves.  I understand drama in sports.  I cried my eyes out watching "Brian's Song" and "Pride Of The Yankees."  But the Olympic coverage knows no end when it comes to melodrama.  The joy of athletic competition meets a remake of "Steel Magnolias."  There is a tear jerker story for every taste:  Lots of cancer survivors, amputees, wounded veterans, families reunited.  You can always get someone like me with a good dog story.  I love dogs.  Hopefully the producers of the piece will be wise enough not to bring some athlete's beloved golden retriever to... China.

Tears, tears, and more tears.  Tears when they win.  Tears when they loose.  Womens gymnastics?  You need several mops for that cryfest.  You have to understand that I've had my fill of crying and sports and that I'm weary of weeping.  It  has been a part of my life since I could walk. 

You see, I'm from Chicago.