During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union were constantly competing for political and economic superiority on an international scale. The US and Soviet Union were both trying to spread their political ideas to other countries and pointed out the flaws of their rivals. The goal was to establish international dominance.
This is where the Olympics come in. The Olympics, are supposed to show which countries are the strongest/best. With this fact in mind, it is easy to see why the US and Soviet Union put so much emphasis on these games. They felt that the success, or lack therefor of, was a reflection of their society as a whole.
