Mayor Bloomberg is in Athens today, seeking to further his dream of winning for New York City the right to host the Olympic Games in 2012. The more we watch of these Olympics, the more we are convinced that our city would be the perfect fit to host the games.

When Puerto Rico upset the United States in basketball, there were New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent cheering the team on. The same can be said of many of New York’s countless ethnic groups, who are rooting for the Greek or Taiwanese or Japanese or Mexican or Israeli or Italian Olympic teams along with the American athletes.

The Olympics at their best feature a gritty toughness, determination, and excellence that are perfectly in tune with the best of New York City’s character. We saw it in a Thai woman weightlifter grunting words that were incomprehensible (to us at least) while lifting a huge barbell. We saw it in Paul Hamm’s amazing comeback from his fall to win the men’s all-around gymnastic competition. And there will no doubt be more such moments as the games wear on. The competition in Athens has captured America’s imagination, to judge by the strong television ratings that NBC has seen so far.

There will be plenty of time once the Olympics conclude to debate the logistical details, including the use of public funds in New York for stadiums. And we’ve already commented in this space on the disgraceful antics of the Iranian Olympic team. But on the evidence of the games so far, we wish the mayor luck in his mission. He is working hard, and the Olympics belong here in the Big Apple.