I can't deny it. I have a man crush.

A couple of months ago on this very forum I railed against the Olympics. I allowed that I would probably watch them, but that I basically wasn't sure if the served their supposed purpose of truly bringing the world together. I'm a big enough man to say that I was wrong.

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS.

This time of year is normally reserved for baseball as well as anticipation of the upcoming NFL season. But those things couldn't be further from my mind.

I still think the games are flawed. The supposed amateurism of the games is a joke. Any of the athletes competing at the highest levels are professionals. That's just a fact we have to face.

Additionally, I have seen in myself a certain bit of undue dislike toward certain countries when they challenge, talk bad about or even beat my fellow Americans. While I believe in national pride, I think I go a bit far in my feelings about those competitors.

In that sense, the games bring out the worst in me.

But how can I not get swept up the in mania over sports that no one cares at all about, save two weeks on every fourth year.

Michael Phelpsamania has certainly struck with this reporter. We actually plan our nights here at the Banner around his races. We work diligently on our fall sports preview until about 10:30, around the time Phelps has been racing most nights.

At that point, the work is put away for the next five or 10 minutes, until the fervor has died down.

And then it's back to the grindstone.

I even forced one of the other guys to move from "my" seat during the race last night. It's worked so far, so why mess with it?

But I'm really enjoying the even more obscure stuff than swimming. I have very much enjoyed a couple of women's water polo matches. Why? I have no answer for that. I never get to see water polo, so it's just entertaining.

I've also had the joy of seeing weight lifting, track cycling and women's beach volleyball (I think we all know why I like that one.)

So, in the end, I have to tip my hat to the Olympics. I'm not happy with the location, as I think the Chinese government is way too shady for the international community to be giving the nation this kind of recognition.