*yawn* Oh, the Olympics are on?

I wish I could give more than a flying flock about the Olympics, I really do. There just really seems to be something missing in today's Olympics that was there in the Olympics of my youth.  I know that when I was a kid, we had the whole Cold War "us versus them" thing going on. Still, those Olympics seemed to be about ideals. Today's Olympics seem to be about hype, money, marketing, show biz, and bullshit. For some reason, when they split up summer and winter to alternating two-year intervals, that seemed to me that the Olympics had jumped the shark. The only reason for that change, and throwing out a 100 year-old tradition, seems to be to facilitate media coverage and television programming.
I think the last time I got excited about the Games was in 1992, with the U.S. Basketball "Dream Team". It really was a dream team, then. The legends of basketball past, and the up-and-comers of that time--Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen... There will never be another team such as that. It was pathetic when subsequent U.S, basketball teams were described as the "Dream Team" by sports announcers and commentators. I actually laughed out loud and spit my beer through my nose when I heard a commentator call the 2004 team by that now-tired moniker! This was right before they lost to Yemen, or Uzbekistan, or Turdistan, or Lower Slobbovia, or some piss-ant country. I barely recognized a single name on this "Dream Team" anyway, which had become nothing more than an N.B.A. all-star squad by this time. Again, falling under the sword of hype and bullshit.
Another reason I'm not interested this year is the I.O.C.'s refusal to honor the Israeli athletes killed 40 years ago. Purely political a decision, and a pandering to the anti-Israel crowd (Basically, everyone in the world), it was just a very poor and cold decision; lacking common decency.
While I didn't see the opening ceremonies, I heard from numerous sources that it was a gala, spectacular salute to socialism--National Health Service, unions, and the industrial revolution. No thanks. Socialism is a cornerstone of world oppression and should not be celebrated, regardless of how stunningly visual it is. More hype and bullshit.
So, if I don't seem to be excited about the Olympics, please don't fault me. They'll be over soon, and we can return to our regularly scheduled program, I MEAN, our regular lives.