The Olympians That Are Upset They Can't Play Pokemon GO Have Their Priorities A Bit Out Of Whack

No Pokemon in Deodoro Olympic venue! Or in Brazil!?? □□□ @NianticLabs @PokemonGoApp @Pokemon #PokemonGO #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/xiRMcqhXfV

— Joe Clarke (@joeclarkek1) July 26, 2016

USAToday-  Pokemon Go is a game that forces people to go outside and actually interact with the world. The Olympics bring people from all over the world together, so theoretically, the opportunity to play Pokemon Go in Brazil would offer a unique social experience for the athletes.

The problem? There are no Pokemon to catch in Rio de Janeiro.

​British athlete Joe Clarke tweeted a screenshot of his game in Rio, which showed a complete lack of Pokemon. He wasn’t too happy about it either.

Pokemon Go is available in 30 countries, but Brazil is not one of them.

New Zealand soccer player Anna Green echoed Clarke’s disappointment to the Associated Press:

“I wish I could run around in the [athletes’] village catching Pokemon. I just can’t get it on the phone. It’s fine, but it would have been something fun to do.”



What I won't do is sit here and criticize a bunch of Olympians for getting sucked into the Pokemon Go phenomenon. I personally think it's stupid, but if the number of downloads are any indication then there are plenty of people who think I am stupid for feeling that way. However, I also won't sit here act like it's some grave injustice that Olympians can't play a game that requires them to go outside and walk around aimlessly in a foreign country that's preeminently known for it's epidemic carrying insects.

Were these people bitching about the complete lack of animated pocket monsters too busy catching them when they were being given the tutorial on what to expect from their disease ridden destination? Probably should have taken a break from fantasy land to learn about all the real life dangers they were about to face. That's not to say they can't be disappointed by the temporary uselessness of their favorite app, but I think it's safe to assume the absence of Pokemon should be a concern secondary to the absence of clean water and fresh air. Maybe start looking for reasons to stay inside instead of looking for reasons to go outside. I know everyone's priorities differ, but "catching 'em all" in Rio means something entirely different so it's probably a blessing that their technological maps aren't up with the times. I don't know too much about Zika, but I do know there's no poke-ball on the planet that can contain it so it might be a good idea to avoid that little guy at all costs.