The Olympic torch relay has turned into more of a feat than many of the Games themselves will be.  Protests and overwhelming numbers of spectators have caused the relay to be cut short numerous times.Talks of boycotts have filled newspaper pages around the globe. And, while I understand that the Olympic Games are a perfect platform for protest, I still think that a boycott or any disruption of the Games is wrong.
  People forget what the Olympics are really about. They are for putting race, religion, and politics aside for just over two weeks so that the best athletes in the world can show off their talent.  They are about strength, skill, stamina, and perserverance. What bothers me is that in all the news reports mentioning boycotts and protests a very important group of people's views get left out: The athletes.
  Students are used to having classes with All-Americans and NCAA champions, but they often forget that there are also a number of Olympic athletes here too. Swimmer Michael Phelps is the most notable of these Olympians, but he is certainly not the only one. These fellow Wolverines have spent the last four years of their lives training as hard as they could for this once in a lifetime opportunity. 
  I think people are under the impression that a boycott will force China to change it's political policies. That isn't going to happen. Instead a boycott will hurt the very people the Olympics were designed for: The athletes.