The Summer Olympics: Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?

The Beijing Summer Olympics officially kicked off today with the opening ceremonies.  I'm of two minds about the Olympics these days, sometimes I love 'em and sometimes I hate 'em.  Here are some reasons why:

Reasons I Hate The Summer Olympics:

Bob Costas/No Jim McKay (R.I.P.)
NBC's coverage
The fact that it's not ABC's coverage in its heyday
No figure skating
Rhythmic gymnastics
The new gymnastics scoring system
The cheating
The pretense that all the cheaters are caught
Track and field, since a big chunk of the athletes seem to be cheating
Cheater Marion Jones
Olympic mascots
Not enough non-Americans covered
Nothing will ever compare to the 1984 LA Games
How cocky and obnoxious some of the Americans act
How cocky and obnoxious some of the other athletes act
The "going to war" security that's now required
Events that aren't covered live, like today's opening ceremonies
Kind of like James Bond, because there are so many similar kinds of sporting events, it just doesn't feel special anymore

Reasons I Love The Summer Olympics:

No cross country skiing
Wonderful memories of ABC's classic coverage under Roone Arledge
John Williams music originally composed for the 1984 Los Angeles Games
The amazing cameras and equipment that are used to give us incredible shots
Gymnastics
Tennis
Platform diving
Track and field, even though a big chunk of the athletes seem to be cheating
The one or two athletes no one's ever heard of who overcome major odds to either win or do very well
It's one of the few communal television viewing experiences Americans can share

Let the Games begin!