With the first official day of the 2014 Winter Olympics behind us and 15 more days of games ahead before the Closing Ceremonies on February 23, there-most unfortunately-remains plenty of time for things to go wrong in Sochi.
Threats posed by the region's Islamic militants, the "Black Widow" terrorists and the possibility of toothpaste tubes packed with explosives have dogged the days leading up to this year's competition, causing many to question the safety of Olympic athletes during these games.
In an effort to assure that these threats are not realized, the safety precautions taken for this year's games have been extreme. US military officials have two warships at the ready in case it becomes necessary to quickly evacuate the over 200 American athletes in attendance. Liquids and gels, of any amount, have been banned from all Russia-bound US flights. And this is to say nothing of the supposedly impenetrable "ring of steel" that has been placed around the games courtesy of Vladmir Putin himself.
Luckily, it seems that yesterday's first three events went off without a hitch.
While security cannot be overdone in a situation as full of tension as the Sochi games seem to be, we cannot be allowed to feel that these are the only games in recent history to be fraught with security threats and political tension.
The 2002 Salt Lake City Games took place amidst heightened security due to the fact that the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks had taken place just months before. A mere six years before that, a terrorist attack had actually occurred during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Of course, the 1936 Summer Olympics are not to be forgotten. These games were held in Berlin under the growing shadow of Hitler's power and took place just three years before the start of World War II.
The Olympics and world politics are, for better or for worse, tied tightly together. There may never be Games held where no protests take place, no threats are made and what everyone agrees to be a reasonable amount of money is spent.
That doesn't mean that we should not strive for the ideal Olympics, but rather that we should step back and ask ourselves whether the tension surrounding these games are the cause of the world's political problems or merely the result of them. This Editorial Board tends to think it is the latter.
To put it simply, the Olympics will not be made entirely safe until the world is made entirely safe. Unfortunately, this may be never.
Until this time arrives, whether or not it ever does, the Olympics continue provide us with a chance to celebrate the cultures of our world's nations. More than that, they give us insight to where we are as a global community.
On that note-USA, USA, USA!