Back in the olden days, the Olympics were a big, doggone deal. I am not talking about ancient Greece. I am talking about the Golden Age of Television. ABC Television had the Wide World of Sports program hosted by Jim McKay. Remember the “Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat”?

Every four years, we gathered around the television sets and watched heroes. Sometimes they won. Sometimes they lost. They worked hard and sacrificed their time, education and personal lives in order to attain a higher level of perfection. Run faster and jump higher. Ski faster and make all the gates.

Oh, what silly innocent children we were.

Look at what the Olympics are today.

The Olympics are held every two years. They alternate Winter and Summer. It seems like there are always Olympics. PJ Media’s Mark Rippetoe posted a great article “The Olympic Games: Time to Stop”. Mr. Rippetoe discusses the hideous expense of the Olympics and the (rather obvious) use of performance enhancing drugs.

For me, the biggest turn off is that every athlete has to have a “personal story”. They cannot just be the best and win or lose. No, they have to have overcome something or be part of an oppressed class. Mr. Rippetoe’s take:

My impression, and probably yours too, is that NBC Sports is far more concerned about the uplifting story of the athlete’s mother who overcame cancer, the athlete’s brother who is overcoming a learning disability, the athlete’s gender-fluid husband who is overcoming workplace discrimination, or the athlete’s dog who was just yesterday hit by a gas-guzzling SUV driven by a Man who was on his way to the Board of Directors meeting of a Private Company that contributes to Global Warming than about the athlete’s performance in the sport it is ostensibly covering.

Definitely time to end the Olympics.

Nothing makes the point more about this useless spectacle than U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte.

In case you have been living in a media vacuum, Ryan Lochte is an “allegedly” grown up, 32 year old man. Mr. Lochte’s job is swimming. His sponsors include Speedo, Gatorade, Nissan and Ralph Lauren. As a paleo-capitalist, I say Mazel Tov. All legal ways of becoming wealthy work for me. You can earn a good living by swimming in a pool, well good for you.

Mr. Lochte, in my humble opinion, is a douche wagon. Why this harsh opinion you ask? I am dying to tell you.

Not because a grown up man in his 30’s possibly lied about being robbed to cover staying out after curfew (???), after winning more medals. No. That is childish, immature and stupid. But, when you are a pampered prince with over-chlorinated hair, it happens.

The biggest crime Ryan Lochte committed was ditching his friends.

According to the LA Times.com:

The four swimmers — including Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen — were in a taxi traveling from France’s hospitality venue to the Olympic Village when the incident occurred, the USOC said.

“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over,” Lochte told NBC Sports in an interview. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn’t do anything wrong, so — I’m not getting down on the ground.

“And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down,’ and I put my hands up, I was like ‘whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cell phone, he left my credentials.”

The story didn’t add up to officials in Rio De Janeiro. And, it does smell a little fishy. So, they ordered the four swimmers to stay and answer more questions.

CBS News reports:

So, the pampered prince at 32 years of age ditched his buds in Rio and left them to suffer the consequences. Feigen is still in Rio and Conger and Betz were actually pulled off of a flight out of Rio. That’ll scare the chlorine out of you.

Shame on Ryan Lochte. You don’t leave your friends.

The “Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat” are now the “Performing Enhancing Drugs and a Lack of Integrity”.