I am a sucker – I admit it.
Or maybe I’m not…you decide.
I love watching the Olympics.
I love the buildup.
I love rooting for my country’s team, but I always find myself cheering for individual athletes – from anywhere – who show perseverance and defy the odds to win.
And then you have the odds….
Once it was only about sheer ability and will – and maybe it still is – I think/hope so.
But many countries and some individual athletes spend fortunes on new methods of training – scientific methods…methods that remind me of the old Rocky movie where he saws wood and runs in the snow while his adversary trains on computer-driven machinery…we all know who won though….
Having said that, science is applied to mapping muscles, movement and even to athletic wear – with every millisecond advantage meaning another advantage on the road to gold.
Then of course, there is doping and drugging – anything for increasing the odds and still a concern – and what does that say about the Olympic spirit?
And yes, the Olympic spirit – overhyped, overpromised, oversold – yet for many (me too) still an ideal.
But of course, there are countries and individual athletes who just don’t get it – who won’t play and compete against specific competitors for geopolitical or religious reasons – hmmmm – Olympic spirit? Watch out for those – maybe though, this year it can be transcended….
And then I found this quote, which really chilled me and made me realize the negative power that the Olympics can have: “The sportive, knightly battle awakens the best human characteristics. It doesn’t separate, but unites the combatants in understanding and respect. He also helps to connect the countries in the spirit of peace. That’s why the Olympic Flame should never die.” Adolf Hitler – talk about spin…but Jesse Owens showed him and the world – and won despite the Nazi derision of including a Black athlete in a team competing with Aryans. Sadly, the US treated him no better on his return home…another lesson….
Then there was the controversy over a moment of silence commemorating the murder of 11 Athletes at the Munich games 40 years ago. Despite many world and sports leaders weighing in on its importance to Olympic memory and spirit, the IOC ignored the request and the organizers instead did a video tribute that many have interpreted as a tribute to the 7/7 victims in London, but was vaguely billed as a memorial wall for the deceased loved ones of spectators.
And so it goes – weird science, artificial enhancement, politics, hatred – all are present at the Olympics as they are in our lives – but…
I still watch it. So do many tens if not hundreds of millions of people. I get inspired, I sit on the edge of my chair, I cheer and jump up and down and I well up with tears – because even more than the veneer of the games as a mirror of all that can be bad in society – in our world when you get right down to it – most of the individual athletes represent all that is good, all that is best in the human experience and soul…
I watch South African sprint runner, Oscar Pistorius, who has a double amputation and has created a new heroic title in the Olympics jargon: “The Fastest Man with No Legs.” Some are focused on the science behind his blades, but to me the real story is that he embodies the good spirit of the Olympic games: the endurance to train, confidence to compete and passion to win. Who doesn’t watch him and feel inspired?
Listen:
“Champions aren´t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” Muhammad Ali
I had the privilege of seeing Ali on Thursday night, at the US Olympic Committee’s preopening party. He is in a wheelchair, can’t speak, can’t even really move – but his very being radiates champion and as I watched the young hopefuls from Team USA excitedly take his picture and literally bask in his radiance – I knew that desire, dream and vision trump it all.
So I’m back to watching and rooting – for any and all with desire, dream and vision – because no matter where they rank, those are the winners.
What do you think?
USA! USA! USA! I agree. With all the controversies, definitely shows the positive on individual human accomplishments.
I agree with what you wrote. I saw Ali in a wheelchair but I didn’t know that he couldn’t speak, or even move. His words are so true. I wish everything goes well at the Olympics, and we know that always will be controversies. But the sport’s spirits, and the athlet’s desires will overcome all that.
THe humanity and production of an event on this scale is truly awesome. Up till the wee hours watching, riveted. Whether the performance is flawless, or a flop the emotion as a spectator rides along. And Bob Costas is to the Olympics, what Billy Crystal is to the Oscars. Unmatchable.
(hmmm….I always thought I preferred Winter Olympics, but not anymore…)
I think it’s sad that the Olympics highlight the racism and hate that still exists, but that is overshadowed by the athletes. I don’t think people watch the Olympics simply to support their country (although that’s a big part) but also to watch in awe what a person is capable of when they dedicate themselves 100% to their craft. All of these athletes don’t play the sport as a side thing, a hobby, as something fun they did while in high school to learn teamwork. These people are defined by their sports, they don’t work and do gymnastics; they are gymnasts. These people are working when they’re out there. While we were going to the movies or hanging with friends, they were putting in the hours needed to perfect what they do. No matter what country you’re from, that is irrefutably admirable. That’s awesome that you got to see Ali
I walked the hills, visited several towns & chilled in the ghettos of Jamaica last week as I do every year. Destinations maybe not on your ‘Top 5 places to visit’, but places which have given rise to Jamaican olympic greats from Arthur Wint, Don Quarrie to more recently Usain Bolt. The olympics may be an ‘ideal’ riddled with politics, contradiction and agendas, but it does still have the power to motivate millions to strive, self sacrifice and commit to be the very best they can be.And a few make it – in 9.69 seconds!!! And for those moments and the after effects of individuals and nations rising up and being proud of who they are and the little they have, i say Live the Olympics and keep jumping up and down on the edge of your seat. There are not many events left today with such power.
My daughter is targeting judo 2020. The fact that she may never get there matters little to me. What is important is that she has a goal. A dream. And I reckon anything that keeps us dreaming is a good thing.
I plan to root for her!!!!!!!