Buzz Fleischman - Columnist Page. We received the latest in a series of ‘time is running out’ contribution letters for Team USA this week and it said the Olympics are in ‘full swing’. They were clever in using a gymnastics expression. I thought about sending a message that we were ‘tapped out’ an economic expression which meant that since the previous 14 contribution letters were not answered they had a ‘fat chance’, an expression meaning very little , or no chance of getting a donation.

It also mentioned that ‘It takes so much to get America’s athletes to the games-and it doesn’t end there’. Are they asking us to help bring them back? I would hate to think of our athletes with no ticket home or at least on stand-by at the airport. With the British Pound worth more than the dollar that would still be pretty expensive. Do they want us to donate our ‘air miles’ if we’re ‘tapped out’? It was a lot more convenient when the games were held in Vancouver. We shared a border, not an ocean.

The letter contained so many mailing labels that if used, we could have single handedly saved the Post Office from bankruptcy. The letter(S) also offered a virtual apparel line of sweatshirts, gym bags and T-shirts as premiums, all of which were made in China. It probably cost more to produce and send the letter than the garments, which brings us to an interesting point.

Is the manufacture of clothing an Olympic sport? Not yet. So far it’s a head to head battle for Olympic medal supremacy between China and the USA but there’s one category we will not win.

Team USA entered the arena at the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in London proudly wearing red, white and blue, from top to bottom with a label that said ‘Made in China’.

What hurts is the iconic Ralph Lauren ‘pony’ logo was so large it could be seen from the cheap seats’. The outfits were priced out at almost $2000 for men and $1500 for women. At least we didn’t pull a stunt like Egypt and outfit our team in counterfeit Nike clothing…..hey wait a minute!

In other news…..

Three badminton teams were disqualified from competing when it was found that they threw matches to gain an advantage in later rounds of play. After what we’ve seen in backyards all across America, how can you tell? If badminton made it, so can ‘Hide and Seek!