Goosebumps, every time I watch, I get goosebumps.
It’s the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and Canada has just walked in. Ever since I can remember watching the Olympics it was this moment that filled me with excitement, anticipation, and pride. I’m lucky enough to call myself and Olympian, and even luckier to have been one who was in the hunt for a medal (sadly missing a third place finish in Torino by 3 hundredths of a second.)
It’s the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and Canada has just walked in. Ever since I can remember watching the Olympics it was this moment that filled me with excitement, anticipation, and pride. I’m lucky enough to call myself and Olympian, and even luckier to have been one who was in the hunt for a medal (sadly missing a third place finish in Torino by 3 hundredths of a second.)
I often ask myself what it means to be an Olympian and why the Olympics represents such grandeur in my (and the worlds’) eyes. I suppose its the chance to achieve an ideal, a level of excellence, the chance to inspire a nation, and the chance to rise above politics, war, and discrimination, to a playing field that comes down to hard work, dedication, and a pure connection to the moment and movement that is sport.
Sadly, this is the real world where very real problems and challenges face the Olympic ideals head on. There has been no more obvious an example where the world’s politics and Olympics have collided than in Beijing. Yet, when the gun goes off, the countdown begins, or the music starts, nothing else matters but the athlete’s performance, the moment. It is then, and only then, that true Olympic ideals are reached. It is my hope that those brief moments in time will extend beyond short-lived performances and reach the forgotten corners of society, like Darfur. It is my hope that the equality reached between races, religions, and countries on the playing field that is the Olympics, will someday reach every gym and playground around the world.
Sport has a way or bringing people together. It can unite a community, teach tolerance, and be used as a tool to enlighten our spirits. The opening ceremonies unite a world in one march, one celebration. I love its simplicity, its tradition, and the hope it gives me as I dream of a brighter future for everyone.
Sadly, this is the real world where very real problems and challenges face the Olympic ideals head on. There has been no more obvious an example where the world’s politics and Olympics have collided than in Beijing. Yet, when the gun goes off, the countdown begins, or the music starts, nothing else matters but the athlete’s performance, the moment. It is then, and only then, that true Olympic ideals are reached. It is my hope that those brief moments in time will extend beyond short-lived performances and reach the forgotten corners of society, like Darfur. It is my hope that the equality reached between races, religions, and countries on the playing field that is the Olympics, will someday reach every gym and playground around the world.
Sport has a way or bringing people together. It can unite a community, teach tolerance, and be used as a tool to enlighten our spirits. The opening ceremonies unite a world in one march, one celebration. I love its simplicity, its tradition, and the hope it gives me as I dream of a brighter future for everyone.
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