# Did the end of the Cold War change your interest in the Olympics?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-end-of-the-cold-war-change-your-interest-in-the-olympics/458610>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [August 2, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-end-of-the-cold-war-change-your-interest-in-the-olympics/458610 "2008-08-02T16:21:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-end-of-the-cold-war-change-your-interest-in-the-olympics/458610/21 "2008-08-14T07:50:31Z")

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By that I meant America as a whole, not Olympians (or rather, not _just_ Olympians). _My_ athletic aspirations ended with Duck Duck Goose. 🙂

And I gotta admit that _without_ the crushing emotional commitment of beating the Evil Empire, the Olympiad is just plain easier to watch. The jingoism is still there, of course, but notice how the focus is on individuals…Michael Phelps, Alicia Sacramone, Katie Hoff, LeBron James, the Rocky-esque men’s gymnastic team…not ideologies.

Still not a big fan by any means, but at least I can sit through a whole night without worrying about my stomach turning inside out. That’s definitely an improvement.

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