This afternoon, the Olympic torch will pass through the hands of 80 people along San Francisco’s Embarcadero on its only American stop towards the Beijing Games… or it may be forced to take the MUNI.The city (or as the folks in San Francisco prefer- the City) hopes that the relay will be peaceful and successful, but protests are expected. And if the events in London and Paris are any indication, expectations are high.
But this is nothing new. The Olympics have been well acquainted with controversy many times before. Past Games have been boycotted, propagandized, politicized, and terrorized. But despite that, they continue (albeit with consistently more awkward television coverage each time).
And mainly they continue because of the amazing athletes who compete. Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), Mary Lou Retton and her haircut, Greg Louganis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Dan and Dave (remember them?), the list is far too long. Sometimes the political ambience makes their victories more poignant and sometimes it fades in the background.
Today’s torch run will be full of political statements from all sides (and probably some that don’t even have a thing to do with the issues at hand… we are talking about a city that loves a good protest opportunity after all). How this will affect the Games in August remains to be seen. But one way or another, they are bound to be eventful.
posted by -jw-
picture by SF Chronicle/Kim Komenich
