Love 'em or hate 'em, the Olympics need their superstars to shine

By Scott Russell, CBC Sports

Sometimes they're a little tough to stomach. 

What with all the prancing, preening, and histrionics which fix the spotlight on them and them alone, it can be a bit much. 

The superstars of any sport tend to hog the headlines.

They're brilliant at turning heads and they're just so darned good at what they do that we can't turn our eyes away from them.

• FULL SCHEDULE: Rio Olympics

So it is at these Olympics as Usain Bolt, (the world's fastest human being, mind you), arrives to a cacophony of cameras and reporters only to take countless selfies and dance around with scantily clad Brazilian women at what is loosely billed as a pre-competition press conference.

He doesn't set a golden clad foot onto the track for nearly a week.

Perdita Felicien, an Olympian and world champion hurdler who is broadcasting the Games with us at CBC, covered the gathering and came away from it philosophically.

"Bolt was asked by a reporter if he was an entertainer or an athlete," Felicien recalled with a sense of delight. "He answered by saying that he was he was good enough to be both."

When queried about whether or not she liked that kind of swagger she didn't hesitate.

"I truly believe Bolt is the principal actor in the drama that is the Rio Olympics," she said. "If it turns out that he isn't for real then track and field will be brought to its knees. But I believe in Bolt and I'll tell you why: Because what you see is what you get, an enthusiasm for competing that's almost child-like."

Steamrolling the competition

In gymnastics, a 19-year-old woman from the United States by the name of Simone Biles is making the rest of the field look mediocre by comparison. She could win five gold medals at her first Olympics and it might not be close in any one of her events.

Biles has, in a sense, defused any speculation about the ultimate outcome because of her vast and superior capabilities.

"Imagine Michael Jordan sinking every three-point shot he attempted over the course of his career," offered Olympic champion gymnast Kyle Shewfelt, who is also working with CBC Sports in Rio. 

"She's going to steamroll the competition; she's just that good," he said. "She continues to deliver in every pressure situation and she makes gymnastics look easy. Believe me it's almost an impossibly hard thing to do."

Polarizing juggernaut in the pool

Then again, what about Michael Phelps?

The American swimming juggernaut continues to waltz his way through the Olympic history books is busy making new friends and lots of enemies in Brazil. He points fingers, spits out water, stares down his rivals and beckons the fans to admire his greatness after each and every race he wins.

• #PhelpsFace starts internet frenzy

And his triumphant march continues, with each devastating and crushing foray into the pool.

"He's a titan," admitted Olympic champion Mark Tewksbury who is yet another accomplished member of the CBC broadcast roster.

"I could do without the theatrics but he's earned his place. Maybe we need him more than he needs us. He makes people change their attitude about swimming. And it's always good for your sport to have someone like him shine a light on it."

Superstars are like that.

They can be selfish and demand the lion's share of attention. They shine a light on something and most of the time that light is focused completely on them.

They crave adoration but they also, without fail, have the ability to deliver the goods.

Love them or despise them, the superstars are essential to the survival of the Olympic narrative. Because of them we dare not turn our gaze the other way.

If we do then we're not really watching the immense grandeur of the spectacle that is the Olympic Games.