There is something amazing about the Olympics. For two weeks every two years the nations of the world (ok, not every nation - but alot) put aside their differences and engage in a world-wide competition. It amazes me to see how much respect athletes from different countries have for one another. Of course there are clear favorites, some pretty obvious outcomes, and the medal distribution is completely lopsided; but these athletes all understand the amount of diligence, training, and hard work is necessary to even qualify for the Olympic games - and that knowledge brings a level of respect from the top dog all the way down to the athlete that qualified by the slimmest of margins.
I spent the last two weeks enjoying the games with friends and finding myself so impressed with the level of performance our American athletes display. Let's face it, a lot of athletes from other nations even train at the same facilities in the US as our athletes and we still come out on top. Why is it that our athletes are clearly among the world's elite? I believe there are many reasons our nation performs so well at the Olympics.
#1 Our nation's diversity - We are a nation of diverse people. With this diversity, we are able to raise athletes that can participate in nearly all of the events and play to the strengths of the individual.
#2 Our culture of entertainment - Sports are a big deal in the US for entertainment. I'm sure they are important in other nations as well, but our culture places an emphasis on sports' stars and athletics, in general. We are taught from a young age that sports are fun and exciting - whether you're watching the Superbowl, World Cup, Olympics, or golf on a Saturday afternoon.
#3 Our vast training resources - Needless-to-say, we have state-of-the-art training facilities in our nation that attract athletes from all of the world.
#4 American liberty - I strongly believe that one of the reasons our athletes perform so well on the international stage is because of our nation's ideal of liberty. We do not take children from their families at a young age and force them to train (well, maybe some parents do). We do not shame our athletes into wanting to perform. As I watched our athletes perform, the joy and love these people have for the sport was apparent on their faces - whether they won or lost. They loved what they were doing. It was also just as clear on certain countries faces that the athletes didn't really love their life's work - when they performed well they showed a sense of relief rather than joy. I am reminded of the story of a Chinese diver who wasn't told that her mother (or grandma, can't remember) had passed away for 3 years because her coach thought it would ruin her diving. Yeah, so let's just lie to her instead - great idea! Our athletes choose what they love and for the most part, love what they do. I feel like that makes them work harder and truly enjoy their successes more.
MY OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHTS 2012 -
USA winning Woman's Gymnastics Team GOLD!
Gabby Douglas winning the All-Around GOLD!
Michael Phelps keeps winning!
Ryan Lochte stinking it up - seems like someone was compelled to be humble!
The South African man running with his "Cheetah Blades" - amazing story!
Watching the Americans and Jamaicans duke it out on the track!
Jessica Shasky making a fool of herself as she watches all the swimming!!!
Some day I will watch the Olympics in person, some day!
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