Good news, bad news

U.S. Olympians will get intense scrutiny, support

You can hear the drumbeats already. The Opening Ceremonies for the Olympic Games are still a week away and yet the flag-waving already has begun. Thank heavens for the Super Bowl to slow the rush of expectations. (What a concept: The Super Bowl as distraction.) But soon enough, it will all be inescapable, the gold-or-failure demand that grips every Olympics.

Disclaimer No. 1 (get this one out of the way early): The above dread does not apply only to Americans. No easy sleep will be had in the coming weeks by Norwegian cross-country skiers, German lugers, Dutch speed skaters. Nor the poor Austrian men's alpine team. Every indication is that its members will arrive in Salt Lake City under orders to ski their brains out in downhill training, just to earn a position in the actual race. Happened in Nagano four years ago, probably will happen again. Talk about depth.

But a special place in the pantheon of root-root-rooting for the home team must be reserved for Americans on home soil. Surely the chant -- "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!" -- was screamed before Lake Placid in 1980, but seldom with such emotion. It has been repeated countless times since, with the smallest provocation, but finds its most ardent throat at home-field Games. Los Angeles, 1984. Atlanta, 1996. I will never forget the animal roars that filled the Olympic Stadium in 1996 when U.S. track athletes won easy morning heats in front of a full house. Again and again, the runners would do curtain calls and then walk into the catacombs of the soon-to-be Turner Field and say, wide-eyed, "The crowds ... do they know these are just heats?"

Understand, this passion can be a wonderful thing. It can also be mighty heavy. Olympic athletes have it different from any others. For them, a lasting place in the history of their sport rides on a single performance on a single day. Years of training, one shot. Bud Greenspan has been mining this concept and making great Olympics movies for decades. But what a burden. Jason Kidd wakes up with a stomach ache and shoots 6-for-27 against the Cavs? On to the next game. If U.S. short-track speed skater Apolo Ohno, one of the Next Big Things getting the treatment in advance of these Games, wakes up sick, he's a footnote forever because nobody cares what happens a week after the Olympics.

U.S. skier Tommy Moe never won a World Cup race, but he took the 1994 Olympic downhill by 4/100ths of a second and goes through life as an Olympic champion. As he should, because on the biggest day of his life, he delivered. Mary Lou Retton delivered. Mike Eruzione delivered. Often, the stage is too big and the window of opportunity too small. (Don't drop names like Carl Lewis or Bonnie Blair on me. True, they came through under intense pressure, but they also were prohibitive favorites. That's an entirely different game. People like Lewis and Blair should win and will get multiple chances. People like Moe and Retton can win, but might only get one shot).

Think about a guy like skier Daron Rahlves. Two years ago he won back-to-back World Cup downhills in Norway. Few skiers have done that. Last year he won a world championship in Austria, beating a bunch of Austrians. When the Olympic downhill commences on the morning of Feb. 10 (weather permitting, which is a big if), he will be the only American with a shot at a medal. A week later, same deal in the Super G. Him against the world. Good luck. And if he doesn't win a gold medal then, outside the ski world, he's anonymous for life. If he wins one then he's Moe or Retton. Plus, by winning Rahlves can validate every U.S. flag waving on the hillside. So enjoy the race, pal.

I envy the drive required to devote one's life to winning a gold medal. Granted, in some sports, a living can be made in the pursuit. (Sprinter Maurice Greene was a millionaire even before he won the 100 meters in Sydney; top Austrian skiers are all wealthy.) But the gold medal validates all.

Salt Lake City will be a voraciously patriotic place in these coming weeks. Lots of flags waved, lots of songs sung. All of this is good for our country. All that's required to ice the cake is a bunch of gold medals. Athletes, your country is watching. Don't fail. That is a lot to ask.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

Related information
Stories
Tim Layden's Insider Archive From Sports Illustrated: Medal Picks Scorecard: Seasonal Debate
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.