We are just a few days from the Olympics and things in Greece have not been going well. The Greeks have taken shots from the media for the last few months due to their extremely inefficient construction of venues and have been criticized for their security issues.
It does seem ironic to see Americans complaining about the slow construction of venues, seeing as how if Greeks had Americans building their stadiums and roads, they would have one guy working for every two playing horseshoes.
Nevertheless, the security issues are real. The families of Olympians I have talked to are nervous, but do feel confident in the protection that will be provided. As the games draw nearer, more and more Americans are starting to lighten up their critiques of the host country and focus on the games themselves.
This should come as a relief to the Greeks, as they have been making the news for nothing other than their shortcomings in the past few months. Now they can focus on their athletes. Athletes such as a member of the Greek Judo team, Eleni Ioannou.
Eleni had become a local celebrity in Ionia since she qualified for the Olympic team in the 172-pound-plus weight division. The three-time national champion was the pride of her city and was a role model for kids in the area.
"Everyone was proud of her. She helped kids in the neighborhood to have dreams," neighbor Nikos Drakopoulos said.
Kids look up to athletes as role models, whether Charles Barkley likes it or not. That's why having a good role model to look up to can be so important for a community.
A role model like Ioannou can teach kids that if you are going to do something, you should give it everything you have. Eleni certainly went all out in an argument with her boyfriend and high school sweetheart last week, but unfortunately, she went "all out" the window and landed on life support.
The fight started over who would play solitaire on the computer. That's right, solitaire. I don't know why they spend their nights at home playing solitaire, that may be the start of their problems. It has been a long time since I have played that game, but I am pretty sure it is still a card game.
Needless to say, the fight escalated and ended when Eleni let her temper get the best of her. Everyone has had temper tantrums as a kid and they know what they are like. Most adults grow to control their emotions, but everyone has a breaking point, something that really sets them off.
For instance, Ricky Williams' breaking point is someone telling him not to smoke pot. Andre Rison and Deion Sanders share a breaking point; judges making them pay child support (which could land Rison 20 days in prison.) For Ioannou, it's solitaire.
Eleni took temper tantrums to a whole new level as she drove her point home by running and hurling herself off of their third-story balcony. A few days later, her boyfriend jumped off of the same balcony out of grief.
Solitaire isn't a great game, so if she is willing to jump off a balcony over solitaire, what would she do after a game of H-O-R-S-E? What if she lost a crucial game of Rock, Paper, Scissors? Hopefully, the world will never know.
"She knew what she wanted from life and she loved judo more than anything else," Ioannou's coach said of Eleni after visiting her.
Obviously, she loved solitaire more than Judo, after all, she never jumped off of a balcony after getting upset over Judo. How did it get to this? Did their conversation go something like:
Eleni: I'm playing solitaire on the computer now, deal with it.
Boy: No, no you're not. Just because you are an Olympian doesn't mean you get to play first.
Eleni: Eh, yes it does. Jerk.
Boy: That was mean, but I'm bigger than you so I play first or else I'm telling your mom.
Eleni: Oh, I'll show you (Eleni exits stage right, off the balcony)
I really don't understand how a game of solitaire ends up with attempted suicide, but if Greeks are this passionate about a lame card game, then they should have no problem securing a record medal count this year
Either way, this just adds to the bad press Greece is garnering before the Olympics. This whole situation is senseless and sad. Hopefully, this will be the only Greek Tragedy during the games, but just to make sure, I think the Greek Judo Team should live on the ground floor in the Olympic Village.
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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