Do we really need it?

A couple of years ago I questioned whether the Olympic Games had any real relevance these days when there are so many international sporting competitions being held almost continuously every year.  So the same argument goes in spades for the Commonwealth Games.  I suppose you could argue that it's an opportunity for athletes who would otherwise never get a chance to come away with medals, but just what satisfaction do they get from an award at a Games where the big competitors - notably the US, Russia and China - are not represented.  I've got a certificate saying I won the fathers' sack race at our local primary school in 1975 (most of the others fell over) but it hardly counts as a high point in my career!  Given how much these get-togethers cost, isn't it time to reconsider their usefulness in today's world?