Post Nine: Olympic Tears

As I am sure you are aware the Olympics comes around every four years and this year I have gotten quite involved in what has been going on across the pond. Even as a kid I can remember watching the Olympics and really appreciating the competition and the sense of national pride that accompanies this event. I enjoy the summer games more than the winter version probably because I was more likely to participate, even if just causally, in many of the events you might find in the summer games. We could go out in the back yard and play basketball, run races, play volleyball, race our bikes, etc. but there wasn’t much of an opportunity to snow ski, play ice hockey, or ice skate. Because of that I at least have a feeling for what it takes to win a race or a game in some of these sports. What I don’t really have a feeling for is the incredible dedication to training that these athletes have. All I know is I never had it or have it now. When you think about what these Olympic and professional athletes in general do to prepare themselves to be successful it is quite amazing. There is a trade off to be that successful in a particular sport. The sacrifice required is more than most people, myself included, are willing to make.

Unfortunately, I missed the opening ceremony this year. I simply forgot it was on. I’m sure I will have a chance to see it replayed again in the future if I choose to take the time to watch it. I spent all day Saturday, however, watching events. From that day to today, every time I watch I gain more appreciation for what these athletes are accomplishing. What led to this post was the tears that you see on the faces of the competitors, tears of joy and tears of pain. The Americans have won several medals gold, silver, and bronze. Everyone who competes wants to win. Sometimes you are just not good enough and taking home a silver or bronze medal is a great accomplishment. Other times it isn’t. For example, when Michael Phelps finished second by .05 of a second in one of his races, he was clearly disappointed (and should have been). In the women’s synchronized diving competition, the American duo finished a distant second to a dominate Chinese team. But the clear elation on their faces for taking home the first Olympic medal for America in a diving event in several years was worth watching. But the tears that really stand out so far were given by the women’s gymnastics team. When Jordyn Wieber realized that she was the third best scorer for the USA team and therefore would not get to participate in the individual all around competition (because only two from each country can advance which is a dumb rule) she was visibly shaken. It was at that moment that she realized that all the hard work was not going to result in an individual medal. Anybody watching had to feel sympathy for her. Those tears of pain came through the television and struck me. The positive side of it all was team USA still had the chance for a team medal and she would be a big part of that. Later in the week when they competed as a team she was a big reason they ended up winning the gold. But with one person left to go on the floor exercise, McKayla Maroney (I think), stepped up for her routine. She had just landed on her head in the warm-ups and now was the last one between a gold medal or a silver medal. When she stuck her final landing and realized that even with the unpredictably of Olympic judges, she had just secured a gold medal for Team USA, she started to cry. Once again I was touched. It was so rewarding to see them as a team overcome setbacks and live up to the expectations placed on them before these games.

There have been great American moments in swimming both for men and women and in other events so far as well. I still get goose bumps whenever they show the medal ceremony and the American flag goes up highest and the Star Spangled Banner plays. When these games are over I hope the USA has the most gold medals and the most medals overall, but what I am really going to take away from London 2012 is the incredible dedication of these athletes, their coaches, and their parents as they represented the greatest country on earth. USA! USA! USA!

Who Has the Right?

Sammy Hagar

Everyone's a victim, everyone's to blame
And we are all so different, yet the same
Oh, and everyone's the master of their own destiny
As long as one of us is chained, none of us are free

One

Creed

Society blind by color
Why hold down one to raise another
Discrimination now on both sides
Seeds of hate blossom further
The world is heading for mutiny
When all we want is unity
We may rise and fall, but in the end
We meet our fate together