Don't dim the torch for politics

By Chris Furnari

To quote Billy Joel, "We didn't start the fire."

The fire actually started in Beijing, China, the site of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. That very same fire is making its way through six continents, stopping 21 times along the way.

The fire I speak of is of course the Olympic torch, and although I hate quoting Billy Joel any more than I have to, "We didn't light it, but we tried to fight it."

In the past week, the Olympic torch has visited Paris and San Francisco, encountering a multitude of protests along the way. Demonstrators are protesting China's grip on Tibet and its support for the governments of Myanmar and Sudan.

In London and Paris, protestors made several attempts to extinguish the torch. In San Francisco, demonstrators scaled the Golden Gate Bridge, erecting a large sign that read, "Free Tibet." The original, six-mile route was changed on Wednesday as hundreds of police followed the torch on its new course.

I'm all for free speech, but this is out of control.

When I think of the Olympics and the running of the torch, I can't help but remember the last time I was fortunate enough to witness such a prestigious event. Before the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the torch made its way through the Bay Area.

I can recall, to this day, standing on El Camino Real, cheering as the torch ran by. Sure, I was only 10 at the time, but as a kid who competed in just about every sport, this moment was special.

Now, 12 years later, the feeling is quite different. Instead of the excited atmosphere I experienced as a 10-year-old, I am now bombarded with the images of protestors using the Olympics as a backdrop for political opinion. Senator Hillary Clinton is calling President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies. Even the tour of the torch is meant to symbolize China's growing global power.

This sort of thing always seems to happen come Olympic season. In 1968, American sprinters raised their fists protesting American racism; in 1972, there was terrorism; in 1980, the U.S. boycotted the games in Moscow; and in 1984, members of the Soviet Union skipped out on coming to Los Angeles.

For me, the Olympics are about the athletes and the competition. It's about watching world records fall, unsung heroes emerge and the world's finest athletes coming together to compete on one of the only international athletic stages.

That is the way it should be. No politics, just sport. It's how it began and how it should stay, no matter where the games are being held.