SA's idiotic Olympic expectations

2012-07-30 08:09

Chris Moerdyk

What on earth possessed South Africa's Olympic Games bosses to dream up that incredibly stupid "12 medals in 2012" rallying cry for the country's athletes?

After all, the best we have ever done since being allowed back into the Olympic Games is six. At the Beijing Olympics we won just one.

And from what I hear from experts who have based their assumptions on South Africa’s recent performance history against those of their competitors right now, at best we can win maybe five or six medals.

Which means that even if our Olympic team comes back from the games with say seven or eight, they will be seen as losers, as having failed dismally, as a complete disaster, because they didn't get 12 medals.

Even President Zuma got caught up in it all by banging on about 12 medals when he wished the SA contingent good luck on their departure.

When you think about it, this whole 12 in 2012 challenge is singularly stupid because there is no way it can be considered as motivational in any shape or form.

I find it quite astounding that so many of our sporting bodies and particularly our politicians blindly create enormous and completely illogical expectations and then wonder why things backfire.

A classic case is the ANC's election promises over the past two decades. But then I suppose that is the nature of politicians all over the world and not just the ANC.

To promise the earth to voters and then fail to live up to the expectations they create.

Does this mean they think voters and consumers are complete idiots? I have no doubt that they probably have good reason to.

After all, from a political point of view, we certainly have proof of this when, for example, a community voted the ANC into power in the last municipal elections and within the week set fire to their local councillor's house in a service delivery protest.

I really hope that South Africa’s media forget about the 12 medals in 2012 idiocy and that if our team comes home with six or seven that this will be seen to be a massive improvement and a feat worthy of celebration.

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