Sunday, February 19, 2006

It's all about attitude

Today's Philadelphia Inquirer has a piece about the Olympics and how they have been a failure for the U.S.

Well, that depends on how you think about it.

I admit that I haven't watched too much of the Olympics, because they don't show enough of what I like. The other day they were scheduled to cover luge from 4 to 5 PM. I tuned in at 4:15. I saw 5 minutes of luge, 6 of commercials, and then they began to air an interview with Dick Button, who surely was not going to be talking about luge. I didn't think they'd get back to luge anytime soon, so I found other things to do--like making dinner.

What the Inquirer seems to be forgetting, in this article, is that it's not all about medals or TV ratings. It's about people having the privilege of competing in an area where they excel. It's about doing their best under tough circumstances. It's about having fun, seeing another part of the world, and competing against the best of the best. It's about being a Good Sport. It's about skiing hurt, even when you know you don't have a chance to win and might even get hurt more, because you love what you do and you're thrilled to be a part of the Olympic Games.

Whenever it's Winter Olympics time, people come out of the woodwork to try skiing or snowboarding or skating, and children are mesmerized by possibility.

That's what it's all about--attitude. And inspiration.

1 comment:

Philothea Rose said...

I hate the way the Olympics are televised; five minutes of this, swith to another sports, then go to a third, interview someone else, etc.

The other thing is that this time around, any American who doesn't win is whining about this or that, or saying their aura is black. How about just saying, "I lost! That's it!"