Wouldn't it be cool if an Olympic fencing team actually competed as a team? Six guys all having a go at each other at the same time? That would be something to watch!

Or if the International Olympic Committee combined rowing and archery, leaving the coxswain to nail targets from the stern?

Obviously, I've got Olympic fever; one of the symptoms of which is the Olympic headache that comes from watching approximately 45 hours of television each day. Normally, I can't be bothered to watch table tennis -- even when I'm the one playing. But put it in an Olympic setting and I'm glued to the TV.

That's not to say that I accept ping-pong as a sport. There are a number of Olympic "sports" about which I question the sporting aspect. For example: shooting.

I'm really not inclined to say that firing a rifle is a sport. It's a skill -- but so is caulking a window or pan frying salmon. Although, if there were such a thing as Olympic window caulking or Olympic salmon pan frying, I would probably watch.

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I suspect shooting is Olympic because the competitors are armed and they are really good shots. Who's going to argue with them as to whether they are athletes? It's probably only a matter of time before shoulder-fired missiles are incorporated to the summer games.

Still, I love the Olympics. I am wrapped up in the sappy philosophy of the thing -- the idea that we can all calm down for a few weeks and appreciate people's accomplishments, regardless of their nationality.

One of my favorite moments of this year's games you may not have seen -- the soccer match between Morocco and Iraq. Admittedly, the United States is not a huge soccer nation, so you may not know that soccer players are ultra competitive. They'll push and shove, kick, and throw elbows at the nearest and dearest of friends.

But the match between Iraq and Morocco was an exercise in gentility. When players were knocked down, they would help each other up. At one point in the game, a Moroccan goalie picked up the Iraqi player who had just attempted to score on him, patted him on the back and the two smiled.

"Why can't the world be like this?" I thought.

Yes, I know I'm being overly simplistic, so don't send me any nasty e-mail trying to explain world politics. But just for those 90 minutes, just for these two weeks, it's nice to think that people could all get along somehow.

I also like the fact that successful Olympians can claim their title as the "world's greatest."

It must be an incredibly good feeling for the gold-medal athletes to know that they are simply the world's best at what they do. Hungarian Diana Igaly is the world's greatest female shooter of skeet. If the planet is ever attacked by small clay discs, she is our go-to gal.

Wouldn't you love to carry that distinction -- world's greatest? I'd be happy being the world's greatest anything. The world's greatest kayaker, sure, but I'd also settle for being the world's greatest maker of soap.

The Olympics are engaging in that way. They unify the world, but at the same time, set apart who is the absolute best.

And we get to see a lot of really fit people in skintight outfits (hooray for beach volleyball).

When the Olympics come to a close this Sunday and things return to normal, my eyes will be thankful to no longer be staring at a TV all day long, but my heart will be looking forward to Beijing in 2008, when the world will calm down and come together again.

And maybe, finally, Slip N' Slide will be an Olympic event.

Chris Cope is married, with no children. His column appears every other Tuesday.