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    My Olympic Boycott

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    By on Vern Gambetta's Blog
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    In this past weeks issue of Sports Illustrated there was an excerpt from a new book by David Maraniss on the 1960 Olympics. Reading the excerpt, especially the section on the competition in the Decathlon between my two heroes CK Yang and Rafer Johnson made very nostalgic about the good old days. One thing that I did not know was that the 1960 Olympics were the first Olympics televised internationally. I do remember seeing some of it on TV, perhaps that is why I remember it so fondly. Sure there was commercialization, professionalization and drugs, but nothing like today. It really got me thinking about the relevance of the Olympic Games aside from a worldwide media happening. It is no longer about the athletes; it is about sponsorships and money. I do not know about you, but I am going to stage my own Olympic Boycott and watch as little of it as possible. During the cycling events I will go for bike rides, during swimming I will go swimming and during track I will go run or throw a medicine ball around. That will be my Olympics. I welcome you to join me in my silent protest. I am sure no one will notice my boycott, all the better. It is not about Tibet or Tiananmen Square it is about the loss of an ideal. We have brought back the Roman circus.
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    Vern Gambetta

    Vern Gambetta

    Director at Gambetta Sports Training Systems
    Vern is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several MLS teams as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. He has lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe and has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He has a BA in teaching with a coaching minor and an MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.
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