Thousands of years ago, in 776 BCE city-states and kingdoms from ancient Greece, joined together every four years and put aside their differences to compete in athletic competitions and honor the god of all Greek gods, Zeus. However, in 393 CE, the Olympics were cancelled, as the Romans strengthened their rule on Greece. Nevertheless, the Olympics were resurrected in the 17th century and have continued to this day, bringing the world together every four years. Today, there is not the question of, “Should the Olympics take place?”, but rather who should compete in them. Should amateurs or professional athletes be participating in the Games? In 1986, the International Federation altered the Olympic Games forever, by stating that professional
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The first supposed champion of the Olympics in 776 BCE was a cook. A cook competing in the Olympics is not something you see with professional athletes taking over every sport in the Olympics. Also, the excitement of seeing the underdog win is a lost cause in the modern Olympics. The 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, had, arguably, one of the most interesting and surprising sporting events there have been, as a group of American, college and amateur hockey players, defeated, at the time, the greatest international hockey team, the Soviet Union. If professional athletes competed in the games, although it still would have been exciting for the USA to defeat the Soviets in hockey, the national pride and unity, of the USA after defeating the Soviet Union, would have been different. In the modern Olympics you rarely see major underdogs defeating a visibly better athlete or team in the games. Another reason professional athletes should not be allowed to partake in the Games is because of destructing the professional sports. The NHL for example, takes place at the same time as the Winter Olympics and the commissioner does not want the league to send players because he does not want a two break for the Games. Therefore, if there is no break, and the NHL’s players go to the Olympics, more less skilled players would be playing in
The first supposed champion of the Olympics in 776 BCE was a cook. A cook competing in the Olympics is not something you see with professional athletes taking over every sport in the Olympics. Also, the excitement of seeing the underdog win is a lost cause in the modern Olympics. The 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, had, arguably, one of the most interesting and surprising sporting events there have been, as a group of American, college and amateur hockey players, defeated, at the time, the greatest international hockey team, the Soviet Union. If professional athletes competed in the games, although it still would have been exciting for the USA to defeat the Soviets in hockey, the national pride and unity, of the USA after defeating the Soviet Union, would have been different. In the modern Olympics you rarely see major underdogs defeating a visibly better athlete or team in the games. Another reason professional athletes should not be allowed to partake in the Games is because of destructing the professional sports. The NHL for example, takes place at the same time as the Winter Olympics and the commissioner does not want the league to send players because he does not want a two break for the Games. Therefore, if there is no break, and the NHL’s players go to the Olympics, more less skilled players would be playing in