Making the Olympics Count

In 2003, Major League Baseball began an experiment that lasted over a decade. They gave home field advantage in the World Series to the side that won the All-Star Game.

Up until 2002, the All-Star Game was played just for fun as an exhibition game and a treat for the fans. But in recent years, contracts for star players ballooned into colossal deals in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Those star players began opting out of playing the All-Star Game because they didn’t want to risk getting injured in a game that didn’t matter for their team and that they didn’t get paid to play. It defeated the purpose of the All-Star Game when so many stars refused to play. So baseball made the All-Star Game count for something.

That brings me to my point about the Olympics. It should be a huge honor on the world stage to host the Olympics. But recently many countries are taking a pass at the opportunity because it doesn’t make much financial sense. Playing host to such a huge world event is a logistical nightmare and can cost a country more than it benefits. But what if we made the Olympics count for something?

What if political clout in the United Nations were determined by the results of the Olympics? What if the top-performing country in the Olympics got to select the Secretary-General of the United Nations for a four-year term? Bad idea, but would have interesting implications.

The most populous and organized countries in the world would have the biggest influence in the United Nations. National sports programs would gain much more funding, maybe even more than the military. Billions of dollars would go into sports science research. Some countries will play dirty. There would be conspiracies and drugs. There would be a rise in nationalism. Youth interest in sports would go up in every nation. International sporting leagues would form and compete. The competitors on Olympic teams would be formed of seasoned professionals, not amateur college kids. The Olympics would become so much more interesting to follow and watch.