I'm not still watching the winter Olympics anymore, which is too bad because it's about the only guilt-free TV I can watch. I feel edified, somehow, even if I'm watching 15 back to back runs of 4 man bobsled, where the only difference I can see is the paint job and the number at the bottom of the screen when each team finishes.

I do have to say that the Olympics—and somehow this seems especially true of the winter Olympics—are less exciting now that the Cold War is over. Maybe this is just because the first Olympics I watched were in the twilight of that era and I'm nostalgic for my youth. But somehow the geo-political tension just wasn't there for me when Russia lost their bronze medal match in ice hockey, or even when Japan stood over America and Russia on the podium for women's figure skating.

Tags: Humor