I was thinking about JC Murphy’s post from last week (“Our ADD Society”) this morning when I saw THIS article on the Boston Globe website.  The Summer Olympics game happen once every 4 years.  The best in the world compete in their chosen endeavor on the biggest stage possible.  The culmination of a lifetime of work put on display at the highest human level. 

And we concern ourselves with medal counts. 

The opening ceremonies are the one point in the games in which each athlete is equal to all others.  All have earned their respective trip to the games.  Some countries have huge contingents (China has 639 athletes competing, followed closely by the US with 595), some have but 1.  This is there one chance at glory.

We focus on the “true” race – how many medals have been won: “With just five full days left before the stadium cauldron is snuffed out, the hosts had a substantial lead over the United States in the gold medal race (39-22) and were within five (72-67) in the overall standings.”

Yet, we can’t understand why Michael Phelps was upset with his time.  “He won the gold” we’ll say, but he’s upset because he felt he should have been faster.  That’s the difference: he’s concerned with how he feels he performed, not what the eventual outcome maybe in relation to how someone else performed.

It’s so hard for me to cheer for the “Re-deem Team,” because there is one reason and one reason only these guys are playing – they’re playing to win a medal.  Not to compete at the highest possible level, but simply to win a medal.  The thing that impressed me most about Allen Iverson in his Olympic appearance wasn’t his performance, it was that he actually got the concept – he was representing his country and was proud of that.  AI is a great many things – a goodly number of which can be negative – but he earned my respect.  The 2004 team won Bronze and it was because of AI that I could be proud of that.  If the 2008 team wins gold, it will simply be a medal.  Big deal.  It will bring the US a little closer to China’s gold total.

There is plenty of time – particularly in this country – to focus on the outcome: Win the Superbowl by 1 point or 45 points, you win.  The Olympic Games is a time to focus less on the outcome of having won the gold, but to focus on the achievement that IS winning the gold.  Focus on what it took to win it.  Not that 22 gold medals have been won, but the stories behind those 22 gold medals. 

Tags: OlympicGames GoldMedal

Bookmark: