I'm a little disappointed because it's that time again. I'm not talking about the drunken wanderings of the freshmen class, or briefly recounting your summer experience about two hundred times, or even the search for the perfect dorm poster that sends the message: "I'm really cool, but I also like to express myself." No, I am speaking of the closing of the Olympics, or as I like to refer to it, "the greatest spectacle of athletic achievement across the globe."

You're probably asking yourself what could possibly dampen my spirits after a thrilling 17 days of wonderment. Well, for starters, the Chinese Commies smoked us in gold medals. Clearly, for the next round we need to begin threatening the families of our Olympians if they don't get gold. For us college students, it should serve as a bit of reality check: Competitors our age and younger are exhibiting world class fitness and winning awards for their country while for most of us it's an achievement to go a full day without a nap.

Let's move past this thought to bask in the bigger picture. The Olympics are an incomparable two-year phenomenon, (though everybody knows that barring speed skating the summer Olympics are much better) and what perturbs me is the lack of respect. I don't want to point the finger at everyone here, because there's certainly a fair share of devotees, but we're talking about a tradition of honoring the spectacular abilities and performance of the human body passed down to us from the ancient Greeks.

This does mean, though, when I mention Bela Carolyi in conversation (almost daily) I shouldn't be met with ignorant open-mouth gaping. The Olympics symbolize a global unification as spectators to pay homage to the magnificently talented athletes who have trained all their lives to receive our 60 seconds of respect. To deny them of this because you're watching Scrubs re-runs or visiting a sick relative is like spitting on a piece of garbage you littered on a tombstone. I believe we need to go above and beyond casually chatting about Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt.

This is a monumental world event that calls for greater recognition. I actually went into a bar that only had the Olympics on two of their four TVs. Why would you be watching something else? If work is not completely canceled, the Olympics should at least be turned on throughout the American workplace. Because let's face it, amidst all the international critique, the Olympics is one of the few times when the rest of the world has to step back and own up: "Yeah, America's the best." On the other side, it creates a unique atmosphere across the country where for once we're all rooting for the same team. Outside of getting attacked by another country, this is really the most patriotic people will get, so we need to start warming up to embrace Vancouver 2010.