Many of us are diehard Olympics fans.

Watching the games starting tomorrow costs no more than the price of a mobile device or TV and the electricity to power them.

For a tiny investment, we gain ringside seats to watch some of the world’s finest athletes perform their amazing feats of strength.

We’re no fans of the arrogant International Olympic Committee. They’re just blood suckers who offer allegedly amateur athletes a shot at glory – but at their own expense.

Healthwise, the IOC screwed up the Rio games, are screwing up the Tokyo games and will do no better with the Beijing games.

Empty seats

We do feel for the Tokyo officials who are holding the bag for most of the expenses with empty seats. Their billion dollar sponsors are about to desert them.

Tokyo is a lovely city with warm and welcoming people. We spent a week there years ago and loved it.

Asahi Breweries pledged more than $100 million to sponsor the Tokyo games with the promise of stadiums filled with spectators.

The beer maker envisioned those visitors chugging the Tokyo 2020 official beer and the favorable publicity it would produce.

But almost all spectators have been banned and the Japanese are concerned about covid-19 infections.

More than 50 other Japanese companies kicked in more than $3 billion, the largest contribution from a host nation in history.

If they hoped to reap the benefits of more than 16 days and an expanded postgames period, they made a poor investment – no thanks to China which gave the world this pandemic.

IOC rules

Even without covid, sponsoring the games has risks.

The IOC won’t let them put their logos on stadium walls or athletes’ uniforms.

Tokyo’s troubles are a mite more manageable for Visa, Intel, China’s Alibaba and 11 companies that have contracts with the IOC to sponsor multiple Olympics.

They may fare better at the 2024 games in Paris.

Safe at home

The free fans in Lexington County and the rest of the world won’t face the covid infection fears of the athletes and their managers.

But Nippon Telegraph & Telephone had planned to show off its technology so spectators could watch a boat race as if they were on the water themselves.

The only people who will be able to experience it now are the athletes or those working at the games.

Toyota Motors and Panasonic canceled their demonstrations of environmentally friendly vehicles. Asahi and 14 other Tokyo partners each paid about $135 million to participate.

Poor planning and decisions beyond their control has led to pitiful profits.

Please write and let me know how you feel at chroniclesports@yahoo.com .