You’ve all seen the supposedly inspirational stories printed about our Olympic athletes: “After Susie’s dog had a leg amputated, she then realized that she needed to work harder to achieve her dream of Olympic gold.” Blah, blah, blah. To be honest, I do not care about the backstory about an Olympic athlete. Just go to Greece and represent the United States to the best of your abilities. It has been about a week and a half since the Olympics started, and I’m already sick of the games.

The first nauseating thing, or shall I say, person, that comes to mind is Michael Phelps, aka “Aquaman.” I recognize that Phelps is a good swimmer, but was he the only person representing the United States at the Olympics this year? The man who refuses to wear anything but a Speedo was on the cover of numerous magazines and television shows.

The media have hyped this 19-year-old to be the swimmers’ Carl Lewis, yet the announcers speak with such excited criticism when he received two bronze metals. Once again, the fickle media have built up a hero only to criticize his so-called “failed” endeavors. (I do not consider a bronze medal a failure.)

Moving right along to the ungrateful women’s gymnastics team: the team was disappointed because it won “only” the silver medal. They must not understand that they are second in the entire world. They should be ecstatic, not disappointed. Not many people make it to the Olympics. If the women’s gymnastics team isn’t enthused about receiving a silver medal, then they can do without a medal at all. Hey, I’ll take the silver medal myself and wear it proudly every day.

Further dragging down the spirit of the Olympics are the annoying announcers who shred the gymnasts’ routines. Paul Hamm’s performance is one example. After his fall, one announcer stated: ‘’There is no way he will be able to win gold. Paul Hamm should just aim for a medal if he is lucky. That fall has nearly eliminated him.’’

It is a good thing the athletes don’t hear such pessimistic comments.

For Paul Hamm to win gold, he needed to receive a score of 9.822 on a 10-point scale. Hamm received a 9.832 and won the gold – despite the odds. Of course, the announcers immediately jumped back on the bandwagon, labeling Hamm the hero and the superstar of the men’s Olympic team. I would like to see the sadistic commentators do a routine on the high bar. Let’s see what they have to say after that.

I have saved the best for last. You probably know where I am going with this. The U.S. men’s basketball team is composed of the most egotistical, overpaid brats squeezed onto one incohesive team. I feel bad for Larry Brown, who is an amazing coach. He has to put up with the egos and narcissism. It’s a shame grown men apparently do not have the ability to show up on time for curfew.

I remember the good ol’ days with the Dream Team. Those players played with pride and dignity, something many of today’s players lack.

I don’t mean to underestimate the ability of any of the athletes competing in the Olympics. The fault lies with the media. The media have tarnished the true essence of the Olympics, which is taking home a medal – and representing your country respectably.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.