Financial Times (August 7)
“As Japan and the US square-off tonight for the gold medal match in Olympic baseball, the Yokohama air will be equal parts thick with history, humidity and the rich possibility of humiliation.” Drastically important, both countries will be competing in what is “a cherished national sport, a national obsession, a mirror to the national soul and a century-old metaphor for the swash and backwash of the two nations’ relationship. A Japanese win in Yokohama will settle and old, old score.”
Tags: Baseball, Cherished, Gold medal, History, Humidity, Humiliation, Japan, Olympic, U.S., Yokohama
Washington Post (June 11)
“There will be joy and drama, glory and grief, among Olympic competitors. But this summer’s pandemic-era Games in Tokyo are destined to go down as the most joyless of modern times with athletes sequestered and cheering banned…. Instead of basking in anticipation of the Opening Ceremonies on July 23, the buildup to the Games sees Japan mired in blame, recriminations and laments that it didn’t have to be this way.”
Tags: Athletes, Banned, Blame, Cheering, Competitors, Drama, Glory, Grief, Japan, Joyless, Mired, Olympic, Opening Ceremonies, Pandemic, Recriminations, Sequestered, Tokyo
