Or: why I love international sports. Two articles I read today:

Article 1: Some athletes are more than superstars. They carry whole nations on their backs. Their nations have 1.3 billion people and get to host the Olympics. And they are responsible for exposing a whole continent to a sport. Actually, that’s just one (huge) guy.

Article 2: And elsewhere, it’s a victory when your athletes come home at all. See, a lot of the time they don’t, since your country is so poor. (HT: DGP)