2008 Beijing Olympics: United States Battles China, What's at Stake?

Much is being made of the Olympic battle for gold metals between the United States and China. The 2004 Olympics in Athens saw the United States defeat China by a mere four gold medals. So who will get the most gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics? Will the outcome of these Olympics affect the images of these nations beyond the world of sports? The Olympics can certainly be dramatized by current world affairs but can the Olympics change them?

There have been predictions made about the 2008 Olympic battle between the United States and China. According to The Miami Herald.com Colorado College economist Daniel Johnson predicts China will beat the United States in gold medals 44 to 33. It is a reflection of China's Soviet Union like government run training programs as well as the fact that China has entered 639 athletes compared to 596 for the United States. Add to this that the 2008 Olympics is being held in Beijing and it seems the odds are on China's side.

The NBC Beijing 2008 site quotes Steve Roush, the USOC's chief of sport performance as saying the Olympics "is a matter of pride for them". Search around Asian news blogs and you will see that this is true and that many Chinese feel that it will be a symbolic passing of the baton into a new era of Chinese dominance.

Assuming the Chinese do win the most gold medals in the Beijing Olympics is this really a passing of the baton? China has already established a reputation in many parts of the world as an up and coming economic powerhouse that consistently violates human rights. This would not be changed by Olympic results. No pollution emissions standards or trade agreements will be altered in the aftermath. An argument can be made that a China gold metal victory would only be a reflection of their athletic training programs. I offer that the meaning of a gold metal victory for China in the Beijing Olympics will be found in the reaction of the American people.

Americans are experiencing difficult times. A defeat in the Beijing Olympics in the gold metal count could affect the public's psyche. Many of us already cringe when we purchase something and see those ever present words "made in China" staring back at us mocking our fates. Would this China Olympic triumph exacerbate feelings of dwindling hope and loss of American might?

This is one plausible scenario that could very well lead to that proverbial passing of the baton. Another more suitable scenario is that we would use the Beijing gold metal defeat as motivation. It could serve to provide the strength we need to shed our apathy, rekindle the American entrepreneurial spirit and come together to regain our own status.

If the United States should win the gold metal race in the Beijing Olympics it will only remind us why we became the beacon of the world. The outcome of the 2008 Olympics will not change world politics or economies. What it can do is change the attitudes of individual Americans which can have an overwhelming cumulative affect on the world.