Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 88



Only Noblemtl

#088

Contrary to my boasts to Guardia, it took a considerable amount of time for my proposal to hold a weekly sports competition, aka the National Sports Festival, to become a reality.

“National Sports Festival?”

“Should we hold the Juche Olympics?”

“There’s baseball and basketball···.”

“But if it’s for the purpose of selecting a national team for the Olympics, then it might not be a bad idea.”

“Anyway, if we adjust the current competitions a bit and hold them all at once···.”

“It’s not a school or a team, it’s a competition.”

The United States has always been a country that is quite serious about sports.

You can see this just by looking at the sports teams that operate at West Point.

Of course, there were quite a few competitions and games of various kinds.

However, although there are many competitions by sport, there has not yet been anything like the National Sports Festival or the Olympics that I am talking about.

“Not bad.”

“Yes. I think it’s okay to send a message of hope to a people who are feeling depressed.”

The central government’s response to my suggestion was not bad.

But not everyone agreed.

“But the situation is different every week, so it’s a bit···.”

“Wouldn’t this potentially provoke regional sentiments excessively?”

The United States was born as a country based on local autonomy and decentralization. So regionalism was the default for Americans.

So, there was no way we could safely leave it alone to express regional color.

It has a history of over 300 years, starting from the days of New Amsterdam, the very beginning of New York City.

So, there wouldn’t be a problem if each town or county competed within it, but the United States was different.

It hasn’t even been 100 years since we were divided into North and South and fought each other.

There were still people alive who directly experienced the Civil War.

In this situation,

“If you’re not careful, it could cause problems.”

“Yes. To be honest, even now the relationship between the South and the North is not very good…”

If you provoke regional sentiments carelessly…

“Who can guarantee that the same old things won’t happen again?”

Indeed, when President Lincoln called for the abolition of slavery, did he really think that the Southerners would come out and become independent?

There were also those who shouted their opposition for other reasons.

“You said it was Governor MacArthur’s proposal? Isn’t that too advantageous?”

“That’s right. It’s like other states are standing in line for New York.”

A governor with a history of guiding Olympic athletes, and even attending the prestigious sports school West Point.

Some people came out saying that they didn’t want to be guests at someone else’s party, saying that New York would be swept away no matter how much they looked.

“Oh, right. Shouldn’t we look at the whole picture?”

“How much would sports develop if the National Sports Festival were held?”

The final stumbling block was none other than the backlash from the professional sports world.

“National Sports Festival?”

“Isn’t that what makes us competitors?”

During the boom years of the 1920s, various professional sports leagues in the United States enjoyed great success, including baseball, basketball, and American football.

But the aftereffects of the Great Depression inevitably hit the sports world as well.

Even the most successful sport, Major League Baseball, has had to cut player salaries compared to the 1920s, so what about other sports?

Many professional teams have experienced a decline in revenue due to declining attendance, and some sports have seen their professional leagues nearly collapse.

In such a situation, talk of a national sports festival similar to the Olympics aroused a serious sense of crisis in them.

“You saw the last Olympics, right?”

“If we do it wrong, it could have a worse impact on us.”

Of course, not everyone was against it.

“It doesn’t matter since our main items are different in the first place, right?”

“When it comes to sports, if you’re good at one thing, you’ll get better at other things too. If you watch and scout several players at once….”

“I don’t think it will have a big impact since it’s not held every year anyway.”

Anyway, because the pros and cons clashed so fiercely, it was not easy to hold the competition.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics were held in the meantime.

There was a lot of talk about the Berlin Olympics even before they were held.

This was due to the recent actions of the host country, Germany.

“Are you saying that various ethnic groups, including Jews, are being oppressed at a national level?”

“I don’t want to participate in the Olympics held in a place like that.”

In fact, Europeans’ discrimination and contempt for Jews did not start yesterday.

Just look at the characters in Shakespeare’s 17th century work The Merchant of Venice and you’ll get a good idea of ​​what Europeans thought of Jews.

However, after the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, also known as the Nazi Party, came to power, anti-Semitism in Germany was more serious than ever.

On April 7, 1933, all non-Aryans were expelled from the legal profession and civil service.

In 1934, a nationwide book burning campaign took place, with non-German authors being removed from libraries under the pretext of eliminating Jewish influence.

It wasn’t just discrimination against Jews that increased.

Laws were also enacted to prevent the offspring, such as the sterilization of those with medical conditions, and to detain social misfits in concentration camps.

Nazi Germany was already displaying its supremacy over the Aryans, the most superior Aryans, the Germanic people.

It was not surprising that some athletes expressed their dissatisfaction with Germany’s actions and boycotted the Olympics.

“We must use this Olympics as an opportunity to prove the excellence of our Aryan people.”

The intentions of the host country, Germany, were also extremely dark.

The results of the 11th Berlin Olympics, which began after such twists and turns, were enough to shock the entire United States. Our country, the United States, suffered a crushing blow to Germany in Berlin.

They say even a dog eats half of what it sees in its own front yard.

It was difficult to overcome the persistent manipulation of Germany, especially the ruling Nazi Party, which was desperate to use the Olympics for political purposes, with pure sportsmanship.

“What? We’re in second place?”

It wasn’t an overwhelming defeat like in the history of the original.

But whether by one point or ten, a loss was a loss.

The shock of falling to second place was immense, as he had consistently ranked first in the previous five Olympics.

“Germany won first place at the 11th Berlin Olympics, how did we end up in second place?”

“Where has the glory of Antwerp and Los Angeles gone?”

“The glory of the great United States has vanished like a bubble, and what remains is···.”

In the last 10 Olympic Games, there have only been two times when our country, the United States, has failed to take first place.

Moreover, weren’t the results of the previous Antwerp and Los Angeles Olympics so excellent that people even said they were amazing?

What angered Americans more than anything was the fact that the country that beat us to the top spot was Germany.

“We lost to Germany?”

“Does this make any sense?”

“No matter what, this isn’t right.”

After the shocking news of the Olympics was delivered, it was the National Sports Festival that I had been calling for.

“Look at that. Didn’t I say it can’t go on like this?”

“At this rate, will we be able to beat Germany next time?”

“We need to invest in sports.”

“The National Sports Festival is the answer.”

The shock of the Berlin Olympics led to the holding of national sports competitions.

As a result, the first competition was held in 1938.

The location, of course, was New York State.

“Thanks to you, the construction was completed without any problems.”

As Guardia said, starting with the main stadium, various stadiums, accommodations for players and spectators who gather from all over the country, and roads connecting all of these places, and building various infrastructures.

New York had to undergo continuous construction for two years immediately after it was decided to host the event.

In the case of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, they used existing venues to cut the budget because they weren’t sure if it would be successful, but we didn’t do that.

Since we were confident of success, we didn’t have to worry about the budget.

and,

“I feel so relieved after they swept away even the last of the Hoover Village under the pretext of cleaning up the environment for the competition.”

“Me too.”

It was the first major city in the United States to eliminate Hoovertown.

The first National Sports Festival, which started like this, had a total of 36 participating states.

Although it was a shame that not all states participated, the competition created a huge box office hit from the start, just as we expected.

Although the Olympics were ventured into, there were many events that took advantage of the unique characteristics of the domestic competition. Thanks to this, many people said that the National Sports Festival was more fun than the Olympics.

Thanks to this, the total number of tourists visiting New York State during the competition period exceeded 500,000.

Of course, the money they left behind was more than enough to cover the various construction costs.

The second games were postponed due to World War II, but after the war ended, all 48 states participated in the second games held in 1946. It became a more popular sports festival in the United States than the Olympics, but this was a somewhat distant future.

##

“Oh my god. I thought I was going to pick up the kid for a bit…”

“I’m sorry.”

It was my first time back home in almost two months, as I ended up staying in New York for quite some time, contrary to my plans.

“And you’re going to where the riots are happening!”

I had to explain several times that it wasn’t dangerous when Anna rolled her eyes, asking if I knew how worried she was.

“But you should avoid dangerous places if you can. You’re old, after all.”

I agreed with Mrs. Pinky’s words and took her hand.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Well, that’s what old people are like. Let’s see, our granddaughter. Wow, she’s grown so much in just a few months.”

Mrs. Pinky was all smiles when she saw Mary for the first time in almost four months, having only seen her briefly for a few days in January when the inauguration took place and then returned to the White House.

“Ugh.”

“Arthur, that guy’s crying is really loud.”

“Yes. It’s different with Mary.”

Is it because he’s my son?

It was a different feeling from when Mary was little.

Still, perhaps because it was the second time, she was able to hold and comfort the child more skillfully than Mary.

“Arthur, Dad’s here. Yeah? Oh, really? Is that so?”

Arthur IV was so young that he felt a sting on the back of his head and turned around,

“baby?”

“Yes. Do you want to come and see? This is your brother Arthur IV.”

Before coming home, Mary would gather up everything she liked and give it to the baby.

Just now, I was holding a bagel I bought in New York in my hand.

“It’s not a baby.”

“huh?”

“This isn’t it. Huh.”

I couldn’t figure out the English translation.

I wasn’t the only one who was bewildered by Mary’s appearance, who had been so careful about the baby, but then burst into tears when she saw the real thing.

“Oh my, why is he like this?”

“Mary, my baby. Why are you crying? Huh?”

Mrs. Pinky and Anna also looked embarrassed.

That evening, while Anna was putting Arthur IV to bed, I lay down in bed with Mary to put her to bed.

“Arthur, was it different from what you thought?”

“Yeah. That’s nonsense. It doesn’t even move. It was just so hard and frustrating.”

From what I’ve heard, it seems like he heard a lot of talk about how when he was in the White House, he’d have a younger sibling and they’d be able to play together.

So, he thought of the baby as a smaller friend that he could play with, but he seemed disappointed when he saw the newborn wrapped in a blanket and unable to do anything.

“Arthur will grow up soon. Mary is four years old now. Soon, she will be able to play with him.”

“Really?”

“then.”

“What’s wrong?”

“huh?”

“Hmm, what are you talking about?”

“No, I think it should be longer than that···.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No, more than that···.”

Wouldn’t it be better to have three digits for the unit to be able to walk?

“What the hell? It’s too much. Ugh.”

In 1935, while I was enjoying such peaceful times with my family, the world was in turmoil.

Blue fish, blue fish