America is still No. 1

I was born with a bit of a redneck side. It’s what happens when you’re from Oklahoma.

It doesn’t mean I sit on my porch playing “Dueling Banjos,” camp out for NASCAR events or even talk funny. What it does mean is that I’ll eat just about anything fried, go black while you “Go Green” and, most importantly, I’m patriotic as all get-out.

That’s not saying I have a problem with other countries — I’ve been to a few, and some are great — but to think for a moment that one of them is better than the United States is downright insane.

Commercials air on my TV at night about how the U.S. ranks 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math — which are all true, according to the latest Programme for International Student Assessment. But what I want to know is where is the advertisement that says, “sure, our public school systems might not be providing the best education, but in athletics, we still whoop everyone’s rear end?”

The 2012 London Olympics are here, and this is the greatest time in all of sports...For the next few weeks we, as Americans, get to showcase why we’re still the best country in the world.

Did you know that since the Dream Team made international basketball fun at Barcelona in 1992, the U.S. has never lost an overall medal count at any Summer Olympics?

We dominate in everything.

We have Olympic records in men’s 400 meters, 400 hurdles, 4x400 relay, high jump, long jump and triple jump. We also have Olympic records in women’s 100 meters, 200 meters, 100 hurdles, long jump and heptathlon.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh can’t lose in beach volleyball; basketball has rolled since the addition of professional players; and softball, one of my favorite sports, was completely dropped from the Olympics this summer because the U.S. was so dominant. The only countries with any excuse to compete were Australia and Japan.

Obviously, there are more important things out there...

Too many residents live on the street, our national economy is in the toilet and we’re forced to spend the next four months listening to two grown men call each other “liar liar.” All of that sucks.

But for about two weeks every other year, we get to put all of that in the back of our heads and watch the best athletes in the world wear the red, white and blue to represent this country — represent us. Two weeks to remember we really do live in the best country on Earth.