How Rio fell from global grace after becoming host to the Summer Olympics.

This week I travel to Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The purpose is to report on the last round in what has been an exhausting, decade-long battle between the people of Brazil and the demands of unaccountable, scandal-plagued sports bodies: FIFA and the International Olympic Committee.

Putting these mega-events in Brazil must seem like madness to those in the U.S. just learning about the country. The news is filled with stories of disease, filthy water and possible terror fears aimed at Olympic venues. These breathless missives are also almost invariably framed in how these serious concerns would affect tourists.

It’s worth noting, however, that today’s dystopian landscape was yesterday’s triumph. In 2008, Brazil’s ruling elite and many others weren’t apprehensive, but eager to host the World Cup and the Olympics. The economy was climbing, the ruling Workers’ Party told the people that hosting these events would be a method for combating economic inequality, and the nation was ready to announce to the world they were players.

This was never about sports. This was about patriotism and power. This was about the ascension of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations on a sea of rising oil prices. This was about believing a spot on the UN Security Council was within their grasp.

It is a hell of a journey from that moment when Rio won the Olympics and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, “Today I have felt prouder of being a Brazilian than on any other day. Today is the day that Brazil gained its international citizenship. Today we earned respect. The world has finally recognized that this is Brazil’s time.”

In retrospect, it is difficult to read these words.

The current horror show reflects Lula’s own journey from working-class labor leader during a time of military dictatorship to the heights of political power – to someone who is now facing charges of obstruction of justice.

What is the best emblem of Rio’s Olympic spiral? Is it the two skydivers who fell to their deaths while attempting, with 26 others, to form the Olympic rings in an effort to hype the Games? Is it the killing of Olympic mascot Juma the jaguar, shot dead by a police officer when it escaped after the ceremonies? The recent demonstration where protesters forcibly grabbed and extinguished the Olympic torch? Or are high-profile media moments distracting us from the scandals that go undiscussed: police violence against Rio’s poorest, medical shortages as health officials attempt to stem the spread of Zika, and the obscenity of spending billions of dollars while pressing needs go unaddressed?

It is impossible to know how this will end in two weeks. The hope is the media who are only now discovering the crisis in Brazil don’t stop covering it once the confetti has been cleared.

DAVE ZIRIN is the sports editor of The Nation.