I love the Olympics and Paralympics. I love the opening ceremonies, the closing ceremonies, and almost every sport available to watch. My favorite summer sports to watch are diving, archery, soccer, rugby and anything with a skateboard or bike.
When I learned the Olympics were coming here, I was beyond excited. It’s been my dream for a long time to see even one event in person. Finally, it was happening.
However, the pandemic put a massive cloud over any excitement I could’ve had. The Olympics are all about coming together from around the world, and the pandemic has made it imperative we do the opposite.
While I’ve heard vaccination rates are going fairly well in America, Japan is still far behind. Where I live, I finally got a little ticket in the mail that says I’m eligible to get a free vaccine, but when I logged on to the government website to book an appointment, I got a message saying, “Supplies to your area have depleted to the point where we can no longer accept appointments for a while.”
This all means that, to me, the Olympics are a disaster waiting to happen. I hope, dearly, that I am wrong. I hope the Olympics happen and don’t cause a massive wave in infections in Japan. But talking to my other friends here, no one seems hopeful we can avoid this. I’m left clutching my temporarily useless vaccination ticket and bracing myself. That is definitely not the sentiment the Olympics should instill.
The pandemic has ruined so many things. Above all, it has killed far too many and severely wounded too many. I hope these Olympics don’t add to either of those groups. Unfortunately, I think that is what will mark whether these Olympics and Paralympics were successful.