Hats Off To Corporate Sponsorship!

Turns out thirty German skiers at the Winter Olympics have been wearing hats bearing the Belgian national colors (black-gold-red), rather than the German colors (black-red-gold). The caps were provided by Adidas, who have said they won’t be able to get the Germans the correct ones till the Olympics are over. I have two questions: how could Adidas get the right hats to most of the German team, but wrong hats to thirty of them; and are German teammates with the right hats sharing with those wearing Belgian colors?

In truth, I haven’t watched any of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. As a kid I remember being inspired by them. You were rooting for gifted, amateur athletes, striving to be their best. We were proud that they represented the U.S. These days they’re no longer amateurs, and it feels more like they represent Nike, Visa, Coca Cola, and McDonalds. (Of course, this is a gross exaggeration, but the spirit of the Olympics have definitely changed.)

In the lead up to the Olympics you could find ads on buses and billboards featuring NBC's logo and glamour shots of presumably our most photogenic Team USA members. Beside each would be an oversized name like “Apolo”, or “Lindsey”, or “Bode”, and the whole thing felt as if they were promoting rock stars, rather than athletes. Visa ran ads featuring Lindsey Jacobellis clearing hear head before a big race by taking comfort in the fact that if her check card were ever stolen, she’s protected. Come on. At least in the old days a Wheaties box covers came after the competion.

For a very general overview of amateurs and professionals competing in the Olympics you can visit Wikipedia.com