I dunno' Greg, I think there was probably a time when they were "worth it." Not so long ago in the 50's and 60's the Olympics were still mainly amateurs except for the Communist bloc countries and that just became another challenge to the non-supported true amateurs. It was good to have an Olympics in your city but the expense was not great and the benefits were pretty good.

Then along came the slide toward pro athletes and the laxed rules about what constituted an amateur. That seemed to follow a curve with the greedmongers and I'd say from about 1960 in the summer and 1968 for the winter, the focus began to grow on both pros and the dollars......and not the least of the dollars and profits was the IOC itself. By '76 both Winter and Summer "Games" had lost all the flavor of competetion and were strictly focused on money, endorsememnts, and how much a city would give up (and give to the IOC) to host the Olympics.

Maybe I'm just wrong here and trying to justify those moments in the past when I remember Killy and Kidd tearing away at each other on the slopes, Peggy Fleming without the athletic jumps now required....just poetry and beauty. I guess I'm pining for what was.........

Worth it? No, I guess not.....and more's the pity.

Spaw