Stop acting like idiots and get down to business is what Eddie McGuire advised our Olympic athletes to do in his Sunday Herald Sun column. And Eddie is right in so many ways!
There is nothing wrong with Olympic athletes trying to cash in on their (mostly) short lived successes. They do put their lives on hold in order to draw the best possible physical and mental performances out of their (mostly) youthful bodies.
But is is exactly that - peak performance of the athletic kind - that made the Greeks put on the Olympic Games in the first place. And Baron de Coubertin - irrespective of his slightly biased upperclass conception of the new world - also saw sporting prowess as the means to communicate the hope and promise of youth to mortals less physically gifted.
But the combination of marketing machines, money hungry agents, mass media and this wicked and weird concept of social media leads many youngsters to desperately seek attention to ensure that we don’t forget about them. What they do seem to forget is that only courageous battle and for few the golden reward will make them immortal - Greek god(desses) alike.
Please Aussies and all other young athletes of the world, delight us with your superhuman ability, that what makes you stand out. We do not want to hear about all that makes you just like us…