Watching
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 11:01PM Watching the Olympics is hard for me. Here are the best of the best, gathered to fight for the top spot in their sport, to reach the highest level of achievement personally, or work with their team to get the highest honor. There are always those who, for reasons that commentators can only speculate about (and do they ever...CAN YOU JUST BE QUIET FOR TEN OR EIGHTY MINUTES), falter or even fail altogether. It is so painful to watch someone's dreams shatter in such a public venue. Of course, the risk of failure is always there when one undertakes such a thing...they know that. But does the cameraman have to linger on the devastated face of a very talented person who just made a mistake (or mistakes) that no one can believe, and about which everyone has something to say, keeping the camera trained on that face to the point that the viewer becomes uncomfortable. It seems so intrusive. I get it that they put themselves in the public eye, but in that very personal moment it seems right to give someone a little privacy.
While there are the heartaches, the things that go so unexpectedly wrong, there are also the triumphs that bring tears of joy. How wonderful are those moments! I found myself literally clapping and crying tonight during the men's ice skating when Evan Lysacek finished, and even before. Watching him skate with that fabulous smile, because he knew he was doing it, he knew he was achieving the goal, was so great. He looked free. It was a powerful performance; I missed the first round of skaters, and the ones that followed got significantly lower scores. I kept wondering what in the world the earlier skaters had done to earn such high scores. When Lysacek skated (and please keep in mind I don't know ANYTHING about skating, except that my kids can do it better than I) the choreography was so good, the way he interacted with the music was so good, and all that technical stuff was so good...I thought,"Ooooh, that's what!" I loved watching him succeed.
I wish that the losing did not have to hurt so much. Those who win earn it. But it still leaves someone with broken dreams. While I so love to see a person who has worked unimaginably hard to achieve a goal and been so passionate about their training attain the prize (or be well on their way), I also want to give the proper respect to those who have trained and carried their passion with them to these Games only to leave with empty hands...we can't know all that is going on with the athletes as they embark on their particular journeys, as they work toward that medal. We should not take it upon ourselves to judge. There are judges for that! And no matter what happens once they get to the Olympics, they did manage to get there, after all. You don't get that chance by sitting on the couch eating brownies (and if you did then I would certainly be stepping up on the podium for the gold). I say,"Way to go!"
And then I take another bite of my brownie. You should see my form.
some thoughts
Reader Comments (5)
Brownie eating should totally be an Olympic sport. Am I a bad parent because we haven't watched a single moment of the Olympics? Probably. I'll put that on my list for tonight.
I read a blog post about how marriage is a lot like the Olympic stories we now hear all about. The trials and successes and how there were always times when it would have been easier to give up than to keep pressing forward. I loved the analogy to marriage and now when I see a mistake on the ice (I love the ice skating events...) I too feel a pang in my heart for them and relate it to a failed marriage or a rough spot along the way. I agree that everything is so intrusive. But this is what our world has become, isn't it? We build up our heroes, but we love watching them fall. Recently when the Tiger Woods scandle came out, my husband asked me, "What do you think America loves more? Building up their hero or tearing them apart once they fall?" Good point. I'm not sure I know - or maybe want to admit -- the answer.
Oh, I always feel so lazy when watching the Olympics . . .and I can't committ to working out 3 days a week!!
I am seeing/hearing comments everywhere about how frustrating it is to listen to the commentators go on and on about the mistakes or possible ones. We need a grassroots movement to put an end to it. It's maddening. I can't handle the pressure of every upcoming jump, knowing that "she's really struggled with this one....I only hope she can pull it off..." It's like the scary music in a horror movie. If the person were just walking down the hallway I wouldn't be worried.
Good grief.
First of all, I am a total Olympic-watcing-freak!! Every two years, for two weeks I am totally exhausted from staying up late watching every single event that I can. I don't remember when I became so obsessed with it. I think it must of been my amazement with ice skating and gymnastics and from there I started watching every event. I absolutely agree with what your post said--all of the years and dedication that it takes to get to this level and all have it taken away by a fall, a stumble or accident is heartbreaking! They are all champions to me!!