Anticipation, Dread Before the Olympics

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I UNDERSTAND THE appeal of picking China to host the Olympics.

It's like the undiscovered country to much of the world. The Great Wall, the Forbidden City and centuries of history, all — more or less — veiled by the clout of a totalitarian regime.

By granting Beijing the games, the International Olympic Committee made a splash years ago, and the anticipation seems higher than it's been in quite some time.

Yet, my anticipation is a bit dampened by a nagging feeling of dread. Any previous talk that the Olympics would force China to come up to world standards on human rights and pollution was quite obviously hogwash.

The IOC lived up to its checkered history — giving the games to Nazi Germany and communist Russia are two examples — in the run-up to this weekend.

Secret deals allowing censored coverage cloud a very smoggy venue even further.

The sports themselves will be as dramatic as ever.

Michael Phelps' pursuit to beat Mark Spitz's record is compelling and made more so by the great mustache he hopefully won't shave. I'm also curious how the U.S. basketball team will fare after a disappointing run in Athens. And then there are always the unknowns who emerge as stars.

Deep down, though, my sense is the games will be overshadowed by protest or something worse. Years of repression may manifest themselves in ugly ways with the Olympic spotlight on Beijing.

I hope for the best but fear the worst. Let's just hope the attention stays on the games.

Photo by Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images