Settling for less
After 9-11 everyone's perspective on travel and group participation has changed. It has been four years since the terrorist attack and it has been four years since we have had the last Olympics. In 2004 the Olympics were held in Athens, Greece. This was supposed to be a homecoming for the Olympics; back in Athens where it originated. For many athletes and fans this was a great opportunity. Athletes have trained for four years to compete in the Olympic games in Athens, but many did not participate. Many didn't participate whether it was because of the fear of there being another terrorist attack or whether it was because they have tested positive for abandoned drugs. Yes, the 2004 Olympics was different from the 2000 Olympics for those very reasons. Being an athlete you train hard day in and day out, hour after hour, and year to year just to get the chance to compete in the Olympic Games. In 2004 that was
Marion Jones for example, failed to qualify in my opinion for the 100 meters because of the allegations of her taking drugs. Most of those athletes were the NBA players. With every sport and even with every job you have to take drug tests, if you don't pass the test you have consequences that you have to face. Some of the world's greatest athletes have been tested for abandoned drugs, not all of them tested positive but those that were tested or had allegedly taken the drugs were greatly affected by those allegations. It seems to me like the only athletes that were getting tested were the ones that exceeded above and beyond the expectations of mankind, this brought a lot of added stress on the athletes which affected their ability to win a gold medal. Many thought that there was no way there could be enough security to protect them or their families. At every big function there is a lot of security but in Athens it was more security than ever before, making the fans and the athletes wonder is there really enough security to keep them safe. Because of that the US men's basketball team had to settle for a bronze medal because they were competing without some of their star players. As you can see the 2004 Olympics differed from the 2000 Olympics in ways that many people and athletes never expected. Many athletes that were supposed to participate in the 2004 Olympics were declined the opportunity because of failed drug tests. Worries about terrorist attacks was by far the biggest difference between the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games. With that being said the US basketball was re-shaped with some veteran players but mostly rookies. With all the extra security being enforced no one could convince the players that were supposed to be on the USA basketball team to come to Athens and play for a gold medal. Some were scared because there were talks of another terrorist attack and many did not want to risk there lives or futures, so they did not compete.
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Acceptance Essays
