“Oh yeah?”, Baron de Coubertin might have said to the Bard.
London beat out Paris’ bid to host the Olympic games. Biff!
Then, President Hollande mocked the Brit’s poor performance in the early events. With France ahead in the medal count, he jibed “The British have rolled out the red carpet for French athletes to win medals. I thank them very much for that.” Socko!
Then, after a gobsmacking performance by British athletes on Saturday, which left the French medal total in the dust, Boris Johnson quipped “Well, M le Président, mettez-ça dans votre pipe et fumez-le!”. Pow!
Every Olympics, there is some pious, headshaking commentary about how sad it is that the games perpetuate nationalistic rivalries. But in reality, this is the safest way for countries to blow off steam that our species has yet come up with, especially when you consider the alternatives.
Safest, maybe. I don’t know about effective. How about Native American lacrosse?