Inspiring Olympics are respite from reality
From Rio Rancho to Rio de Janeiro, from Albuquerque to Amsterdam, people worldwide have been mesmerized by the Olympics over the last two weeks. As Americans, we have had many moments to be proud, to be tense, and to be amazed by our athletes — with a little emotion thrown in as we listened to the Star Spangled Banner each time an American athlete won a gold medal. But we have also appreciated the skills and talents from all athletes, from countries far and wide.
As we have gone about our daily lives, it’s been overwhelming how much talk we hear about the Olympics. Everywhere there’s interest — from the grocery store to church, from doctors’ offices to casual conversations. People are grabbing onto the competition as if it’s our own local event — or maybe like it’s an escape from the recent onslaught of bad news.
Prior to the Olympics we had two weeks of political conventions, first the Republicans, then the Democrats.
Watching both the political party conventions and the Olympics provided us with a great opportunity for comparisons and contrasts — although there are a whole lot more differences than there were similarities. It also is clear that we enjoyed the Olympics a whole lot more than the political conventions. Actually, it’s like we needed the Olympics as a reprieve from the conventions.
The Olympic coverage was much more straightforward. There aren’t a lot of nuances when determining who ran or swam the fastest. There was no discussion of what was really meant by a particular statement or the seating arrangements. If athletes didn’t come to the Olympics, it was because they didn’t qualify, not because they didn’t like someone. The sports commentators may have evaluated performance or strategy, but they weren’t looking for hidden meanings or conjecturing about long-term implications as the political commentators were.
The Olympics were fun, the results were black and white, opinions were limited, and the only spin we encountered was with round balls used in competition. Hallelujah! It was great fun after weeks of spin, nuances, outright misrepresentations of the truth and enough talk to put us all to sleep or make us nauseous.
In addition to the fun of the Olympics, we can all learn from the commitment and hard work those athletes put into their sport to make it to the highest level of competition. Very few of us have their talent, but we can all aspire to being the best through effort and dedication.
We sincerely hope our students can begin the school year with renewed commitment as a result of watching the Olympics and learning from these supreme role models. These games can give our children a little extra motivation, not just in athletic endeavors but in any and all areas. Children can be directed to see the benefits of tenacity and passion. Olympic athletes are the best and cannot be praised too much, but they got where they are through hard work and dedication. We hope today’s children will strive to be the best and the brightest in their world. We hope to see them at the top of their chosen fields someday. The Olympics were a fun way to get motivated.
We know the Olympics represent only a brief respite from the problems in today’s world, but we enjoyed the break. Reality will return soon enough.