Turin 2006: What If They Gave an Olympics and Nobody Came?

Well, maybe it's not as bad as the headline indicates, but it must be embarrassing for organizers of the Winter Olympics in Turin that many venues have many empty seats. You'll recall that also was pretty much the sitch in Athens for the 2004 Summer Games.

Some events at Turin like snowboarding have been packing them in. (Go figure.) But other traditionally popular events like men's figure skating and men's combined skiing have been playing before small houses.

Should anybody care? Well, not really. I find myself tuning into the games for at least a few minutes each evening because watching the Olympics was a longtime KikoKimba family tradition, and I kinda feel like I'm honoring my dear deceased mother and father by doing so.

Meanwhile, the problem is not likely to recur any time soon.

Beijing and London, two of the largest cities in the world, host the next two Summer Games, while winter sports-crazy Vancouver will host the next Winter Games.