18 Days in August, an Olympic Blog

The title could have easily been Damn Rouvas as well, but while he may be the current Greek singer-hero, he is virtually unknown outside of the country (and let's hope he stays that way!). In any case, Rouvas and Zorba and many other pieces of music, some good and mostly bad, were blaring at every opportunity at the beach volleyball game Saturday, ruining the atmosphere for everyone. Theoharis has already posted a very accurate description of the games, the ridiculous cheerleading and the idiocy of the man with the microphone enticing people to clap like they were in a two-bit carnival. I definitely expected more from the Athens games, a better attention to what the spirit of the whole enterprise is supposed to be about (the athletes, the spectators and the culture of the country) and not try to emulate the crassest commercial approach to crowd participation. And for the love of God, can we please retire Zorba as the unofficial tourist-baiting song and representation of Greece once and for all? Talk about playing up to the worst stereotypes of Greece 40+ years after they first hit the world.

Afterwards, walking back along the esplanade we could not help but wonder at the immense transformation of the area into a world-class park, but also not laugh at some of the hastily finished parts outside the stadium. We definitely could have used a couple more weeks to plant some flowers and finish up the cement floors here and there, but this is nitpicking. Just get rid of the idiot with the mic, the cheerleaders and Zorba and we'll all be very happy.