[BostonCard]

I agree with both of you that the instinct to compete is strong, and let’s be honest, most people are competing for themselves.  And, for example, when a player puts on a San Francisco 49ers Jersey, let’s be honest that the player is not really playing for the city of San Francisco (or Santa Clara) or its people; they are simply being paid to play football, and the franchise happens to be located in the Bay Area and named “San Francisco 49ers”.  To be honest, the Olympics probably isn’t much different at all; we just pretend that it is with all the pageantry, the flags, the anthems, etc.

But for the athletes who have a true choice of who to compete for (like Duplantis or Gu, who could have competed for Sweden/China or the US) when they pick which country to represent, what are they representing?  I know Gu, when asked, has repeatedly pointed to the Chinese people and her Chinese heritage.  Yeah, it is likely a business decision (and from a business perspective, probably the most well renumerated one), but I do think she feels like she is representing the people of China. 

BC

[BostonCard]

I agree with both of you that the instinct to compete is strong, and let’s be honest, most people are competing for themselves.  And, for example, when a player puts on a San Francisco 49ers Jersey, let’s be honest that the player is not really playing for the city of San Francisco (or Santa Clara) or its people; they are simply being paid to play football, and the franchise happens to be located in the Bay Area and named “San Francisco 49ers”.  To be honest, the Olympics probably isn’t much different at all; we just pretend that it is with all the pageantry, the flags, the anthems, etc.

But for the athletes who have a true choice of who to compete for (like Duplantis or Gu, who could have competed for Sweden/China or the US) when they pick which country to represent, what are they representing?  I know Gu, when asked, has repeatedly pointed to the Chinese people and her Chinese heritage.  Yeah, it is likely a business decision (and from a business perspective, probably the most well renumerated one), but I do think she feels like she is representing the people of China. 

BC