I'll be the first to admit that I am not a huge sports fan.

I don't follow the NBA and I tend to wander away from the TV during football games.

But I do love to watch the Olympics.

And that's because it's actually super cool to see whole nations rallying behind one team. It becomes something more

than a game. It becomes this uniting cultural moment. It's like a global holiday.

And so, with a little bit of extra couch time on my hands, I was very ready to tune into this

summer's Tokyo Olympics, the perfect distraction.

But the July 2020 Olympic Games aren't going to be held this month.

They've been postponed by a full year.

This decision wasn't made lightly and in fact Japan is working around the clock to try to figure

out how to keep their games despite a global

pandemic.

It's part of a long story.

For decades, just like their athletes, countries have competed fiercely to host the games, despite mounting evidence that they usually represent

a significant financial loss.

And that made us ask, why?

If not money, what do the games offer that's so special

and worth so much effort?

I'm Gabrielle Sierra and this is why it matters.

Today, the Olympics, soft power and the is the apex of what they can achieve as athletes and it's a chance for the world to see

incredible, incredible athletes out there on the world stage.

My name is Jules Boykoff and I teach political science at

...