My Sportsman Choice: The Greeks

By Mark Mravic

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You can have your broken curse, Red Sox nation. A country with a much longer history lifted an even bigger burden from its back this year: Greece.

The first blow came in 1990, when the Olympic Games of six years on were awarded not to Athens, host of the first modern Olympiad, but to Atlanta, in what was viewed as the crass accession to American commercial interests. The decision rightly roiled the Greeks, who viewed the centennial Games as their birthright, and many others in the international sports community. It was, after all, the Greeks who had invented the Olympics some three millennia earlier and who had served as host for the first modern Olympics, in 1896. Nevertheless, many were privately relieved that the little nation of 10 million, with its endemic political turmoil and small economy, would not have to cope with the burden of the Olympics. Even some Greek organizers admitted that Athens wasn't ready for the Games.

When Greece finally was awarded the rights to the 2004 Games, the same worries were voiced, often loudly. Every six months, it seemed, the International Olympic Committee would issue another set of warnings about delays in planning and construction. So dismal was the outlook and so little concrete had been done by 2000 that after the stunningly successful Sydney Games the idea of shifting the '04 Games -- possibly to Sydney or Los Angeles -- was floated in Olympic circles.

The Greeks turned the organizing job over to the indomitable Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who had led the 2004 bid effort. Her vibrant leadership reenergized Athens. But that didn't stop the fearful stories coming out of Greece, which only got more feverish as the Games approached: the Olympic Stadium's elaborate roof would not be ready on time, the marathon course was a shambles, transportation plans were in disarray, security was not up to standard. Greek assurances were dismissed as wishful thinking.

Then a thunderbolt struck. In the European soccer championships in Portugal in July, the Greeks -- 100-1 underdogs with not one well-known name among them -- rolled confidently over the continental powers to win the most prestigious soccer championship after the World Cup. Greece celebrated, and also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. When the Olympics arrived later that summer, the nation was ready. More than ready -- proud and eager to show the world what longshots could do. The stadium roof somehow got erected. The marathon course was done. A vast though not overly intrusive security effort was in place. And the Greeks welcomed the world with open arms and smiling faces.

Their Games got off to a stunning start with what was, for once, a thoughtful, engrossing and relevant opening ceremonies. No chrome pickup trucks here, no jesters on stilts. The history of Greek civilization -- our civilization -- paraded before our eyes, setting the tone for an Olympics that would different. Over those 17 days in August there were the inevitable memorable moments on the track, in the pool, in the gymnasium. The ancient setting only enhanced those moments. The Parthenon looming over the city, and the Games, stood as a reminder to athletes, spectators and television viewers of the vast sweep of human history tracing back to those original Games. Participants in the 2004 Olympics trod the very ground where the notion of sport was born.

The Athens Games were not the biggest, nor were they the flashiest. They weren't particularly lucrative or even well-attended. Rather, they were fresh. By infusing the Games with their native spirit, the Greeks renewed the Olympic movement. They proved to the world that a small nation could host this enormous event, and by sheer good will, make it a success. More importantly, they brought the world back to the birthplace of civilization, and showed that the Olympic Games, and the Olympic ideal, belong to all of us. Welcome home indeed.

Sports Illustrated will announce the 2004 Sportsman of the Year winner on FOX on November 28. Check back every weekday until then to read more Sportsman picks from SI writers.