Star and Stripes: Puerto Rico's Own Olympic Dreams - Wall Street Journal - 5/6/08

U.S. Commonwealth Competes Like a Nation; Boxer Arroyo's Colors -- McJoe Arroyo, in red, at the AIBA World Boxing Championships semifinals in November.

The American flag and the flag of Puerto Rico fly side by side everywhere on this island. But there's one place where Puerto Rico's flies all by itself: on a silver pole in a clump of palm trees at the Albergue Olímpico -- home to Puerto Rico's ferociously patriotic Olympic athletes.

"My pride is here in Puerto Rico," McJoe Arroyo said one day in the Albergue's sweat-scented boxing gym. The 119-pound bantamweight, 22 years old, sat wrapping his fists in Everlast tape. "I represent the colors of my flag," he said.

It was mentioned that he is an American citizen and that the U.S. flag is also red, white and blue.

McJoe Arroyo, in red, at the AIBA World Boxing Championships semifinals in November. "It's a different color blue," said Mr. Arroyo.

In Beijing in August, 192 countries and 13 "entities" will carry their flags at the Olympics. Puerto Rico is an entity. Like the others -- a miscellany of islands and quasistates -- it goes to the Games for the glory of its sports and in spite of its history. This year, though, the oddity of Puerto Rico's full Olympic membership and its half-in-half-out status as a commonwealth of the U.S. is a subject of conversation for two exceptional reasons:

One, on June 1, the Democrats, having switched from caucuses to a popular vote, will hold Puerto Rico's first presidential primary. With 63 delegates at stake, the primary might not have any impact on the race by then, but it does rub in the fact that four million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico still aren't allowed to vote in the presidential election.

Two, McJoe Arroyo has a shot at an Olympic medal.

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[Midlander1]

I have never liked the idea that the Olympians compete as representatives of nations. The very charter the international Olympic committee has is violated in my opinion. The very fact that the national anthems are played to recognize the athletes that win is a violation of the Olympic charter’s article 6 which states:“The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries.” If that is true, why have the athletes parade with their countries flags during the inaguration ceremony? Why identify what country are the winners from? Why promote a nationalistic atmosphere around the games if it is a competition between individuals? Why have some countries refused to participate if it is non-political? The very article points out the nationalistic pride have in this case Puerto Ricans if it has nothing to do with nations? It is time to abolish the charter and re-write it or just remove all traces of nationhood and let the athletes compete.

[gringo in tropics]

Midlander1 wrote:

I have never liked the idea that the Olympians compete as representatives of nations. The very charter the international Olympic committee has is violated in my opinion. The very fact that the national anthems are played to recognize the athletes that win is a violation of the Olympic charter’s article 6 which states:“The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries.” If that is true, why have the athletes parade with their countries flags during the inaguration ceremony? Why identify what country are the winners from? Why promote a nationalistic atmosphere around the games if it is a competition between individuals? Why have some countries refused to participate if it is non-political? The very article points out the nationalistic pride have in this case Puerto Ricans if it has nothing to do with nations? It is time to abolish the charter and re-write it or just remove all traces of nationhood and let the athletes compete.

When re-instituted in 1894, the Modern Olympic Games were developed for rich, male 'amateur' athletes to compete among themselves, allegedly to 'promote international understanding through athletic competition.' By holding the Olympic Games in a different country every four years, rather than maintaining a permanent location, it is almost inevitable that Nationalism will rule the very existence of the games. Germany ultimately made the Olympics a competition between nations in 1936. It has continued thus ever since, right up to the blatant professionalizing of the athletes themselves.

Now, the entire purpose of the Olympic Games is to 'show off' a nation to the rest of the world--and to generate television revenue.

[Midlander1]

Gringo,

That is my point. I don't watch the games due to violation of the spirit of the charter and what it is suppose to promote.