What do the Olympics teach us?

Sweet

I've never competed in the Olympics. At least not THE Olympics. You want to know why? Because my athletic prowess, even in my prime, did not measure up to the best in the world. In fact, I wasn't even the best in my school or neighborhood. I competed in my share of sports growing up...baseball, football, and track as well as playing several others just for fun. I have (or had) a few trophies and ribbons but no bronze, silver or gold medals.

Why is this? Why do some people get to be Olympic athletes and most others not? Bill Toomey won the decathlon in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Despite sharing the same last name, I am not related to Bill Toomey so his athletic ability did not get passed down to me.

I love the Olympics because it is raw competition. In the case of team sports, if you lose enough games...you're out...no chance for a medal. If you compete in an individual event and don't qualify in the preliminary heats, it's over. You don't even get to run or swim (or whatever) in the final race for the medal. You're done.

Why does Michael Phelps swim so fast? He won 4 gold medals and 2 silvers in these Olympics. How does Usain Bolt outrun everyone he goes up against? He won a gold medal in all 3 events in which he competed. On the other hand,  Lolo Jones finished 4th in the 100m hurdles. You know what you get for 4th place? Nothing. She didn't win a medal. We all saw Jordyn Wieber in tears when she did not qualify for the women's gymnastics all-around finals because she scored lower than her teammates Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman. Oh, Jordyn had the 4th best score of all competitors in the preliminaries but the rules say only 2 people from each country can compete in the finals. This is a strange rule and I believe one of the few in the Olympics like this. In almost every other case, the top scoring people in the preliminaries or qualifying heats advance to the finals regardless of what country they represent. In fact, the US women (team A) played the US women (team B) in the beach volleyball final for the gold medal. Pretty much assured that the US wins the gold and silver medal.

Competition. There is something about (most of) us that loves to watch people compete athletically. I read today that NBC's coverage of the 2012 Olympics was the most-watched event in television history. We definitely tuned in.

Some are uncomfortable with all this competition. Winners...losers. Sounds pretty harsh. Is it fair that some athletes won and others didn't? The obvious answer is "yes" but, still, it gets some people squirming a little.

When I was a young guy and played sports, there were often trophies awarded to individual, standout players. If your team won, the entire team got a trophy. Runners-up sometimes got trophies too but, they were always smaller. Today, some youth leagues give trophies to everyone that "participates." What is that all about? I can get a trophy simply by participating? How meaningful is that? Is this something that you display with pride on your dresser at home? I think not.

I remember when you were invited to a birthday party as a kid, you brought a present for the birthday boy or girl because it was HIS or HER birthday...not yours. Today, it is often the case that everyone that comes to the party gets some small gift. When did this practice begin? If it is your birthday and someone throws a party for you, aren't you supposed to be the center of attention? I mean, it's only 1 day a year. Are we so concerned that the other kids there may feel left out that we give everyone a present?

Awards and ribbons and medals and trophies should be earned. You shouldn't get one just for showing up. I dare say that the Usain Bolts and Michael Phelpses and Gabby Douglases worked countless hours honing their skills. They sacrificed when others were out enjoying their free time. They were committed to achieving something special and they did what was necessary to become the best they could be in their sport. There is no doubt that some of these athletes have been blessed with amazing physical abilities that they received from Mom's and Dad's DNA. It's no coincidence that the sons of the former great quarterback Archie Manning are both standout NFL quarterbacks. But, I bet both Peyton and Eli spent hours and hours throwing footballs in the backyard with Dad.

Back to my own athletic journey. Did I have the same opportunity as Usain Bolt to earn an Olympic gold medal in track? Yes. (Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980 would have been MY Olympics...of course , Jimmy Carter boycotted the 1980 Olympics.) When I was in high school I ran the mile, 2-mile and I pole vaulted. I was pretty good....only pretty good. I finished first in a few meets but, I was not the best runner/ vaulter on my team... I won no state championships... no regional championships. Why not? I didn't work as hard as other athletes I competed against. Sure, some were better physical specimens than I but, that's not the primary reason I didn't excel.

Competitive sports can teach us a lot. We learn that being the best requires sacrifice and hard work and that applies regardless of whether you are trying to be the best gymnast or be successful in your career. Just showing up does not typically result in great success. But some folks want the same rewards regardless of the effort required for those rewards. We see people pointing fingers at others that are successful and say NOT FAIR! Just like in the Olympics sometimes you get only one real shot at winning the prize. Don't miss those opportunities. Why not, when you see a successful athlete or a successful business person or a successful married couple, not allow it to make you jealous or envious but, rather, allow it to motivate you to be the best you can be at whatever you pursue. That's gold right there. And let's stop with the participation trophies!

Nations, races and denominations

If you are watching the XXX London England 2012 Olympic Games, you must have noticed that there are many nations represented. I think the number is 204. 204 flags, 204 national anthems, 204 sets of uniforms and insignia/logos. During the opening ceremonies, each of the delegations from the participating countries paraded through the Olympic Stadium with their respective fans and countrymen cheering with great pride. National pride. It seems these days that, aside from sports, embracing your national heritage is so 19th/20th century. I mean, we have entities like the United Nations, NATO, World Trade Organization, the European Union, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations,) and the signatories of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to name just a few of the cross-national groups/ affiliations. There are many that advocate minimizing the significance of national borders and national sovereignty. But, national pride is alive and well at the Olympics. But also, look at what happened after the downfall of the Soviet Union. Just as an example...the former Yugoslavia, which was roughly the size of Oregon is now Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia. How did that happen? While there is an ethnic element to the restoration of these countries after the fall of communism, nationalism was a major factor. A look at the very complex Israeli- Palestinian conflict shows the desire for people to have a national identity and geography. Many years ago we began to hear about a movement towards a "one world government." I'm not so sure about there being an underground conspiracy to migrate to "one government." I am confident that there are many people that would find that appealing since many are critical of the whole idea of nationalism as we know it today.

If you have ever filled out a US government form that included demographic data, you likely had to indicate your racial identity. A 2005 government form gave the following choices (but it said check as many as apply??)

American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian
Black or African-American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White

That list didn't seem to be very exhaustive. Some of those "races" sounded more like colors than races. White? Didn't this used to be called Caucasian? Sixty years ago, "Black or African-American would have been labeled "Negro" (Spanish word that means black.) That being the case, why weren't "whites" described as "Blanco." Hmmm.

The 2010 US Census expanded the racial labels:
White
Black, African-American, Negro
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Other Asian (it lists some examples)
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro (I had to Google this one)
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander (once again some examples are offered)

Then, I love this last category (which is a fill-in-the-blank):

"Some other race"  ...yes, that's what is says on the form..then you write something in.

Hey, Mom, what race am I? "Some other race" she says. That will leave you beaming with pride.

But, there is such a thing as racial pride. Thankfully, we see people of all persuasions showing pride in their racial heritage. Even "whites" who have the least exciting racial identifier (sounds more like a setting on the washing machine than a race) have some pride (I like to embrace my Irish roots.) As more and more children are born to parents from different races, these racial identifiers become a bit more complicated. Tiger Woods' ethnicity is pretty diverse. Even our president has some hyphens in his racial identity. Is race something we should take pride in? Some think not. Ethnic or racial pride can be misconstrued as racism...a feeling of superiority by virtue of race alone. This same feeling of exceptionalism or superiority based on national identification does not typically generate the same type of reaction. We hear shouts of "USA, USA, USA" at the Olympics but we would cringe more than a bit if we heard loud chants of  "White, White, White."  Some would say that there is a history of oppression that is based solely on race so that's why there is sensitivity. Nations oppressing other nations isn't really a historical issue so it's OK for the British to chant "UK, UK, UK" when playing against the team from India. Really? Hey, I'm just asking the question.

So, let's tackle the issue of religious denominations. In the US, we have many religions...Catholicism, Protestantism (more on this), Judaism, Islam, Wiccan/Pagan/Druidism, Unitarian Universalism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'ism, New Age, Scientology, Taoism  and many, many more. The Protestants can be broken down to include Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist/Wesleyan, Baptist (more on this), Episcopalian/Anglican, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Congregational, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter Day Saints/ Mormon, Assemblies of God and a few more.

Baptist. Do you mean American Baptists, Southern Baptists, Evangelical Free Baptists, Full Gospel Baptists, Alliance of Baptists, American Baptists USA, Reformed Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Primitive Baptists??? (There are too many to list...you may get where I'm going) Is there some pride involved in what religion (or no religion) you may identify with? You think? Just watch the River Street Methodist Church play the First Baptist Church in a church league softball or basketball game. You'd think you were at the World Cup final. I can hear the chants of "FBC, FBC, FBC." And don't forget the occasional sniping that you might hear in the respective pulpits. Unfortunately we do see and hear Christian churches/groups "attacking" or mocking other Christian churches/groups. I thought that Jesus established THE church...HIS church. Look what we've done to it. Looks more like a softball league now with fans shouting across the field at each other. Is there a place for different denominations in the church of Jesus Christ? I'll have to dive deeper on that one in another blog.

204 countries participating in the Olympics representing dozens of racial groups that may or may not identify with what could be one of hundreds of different religious denominations. What I love about the Olympics is that we get to shout and show the pride we have for our favorite country, our favorite sport (sorry, badminton does not count), our family athlete favorite and, at the end of the day, genuine respect and sportsmanship almost always prevails. We are who we are. It should be OK to shout that out boldly.

If the athletes in London can get this right, why can't we? Can we show pride in our nations, our racial/ ethnicity and our religions without fear of being perceived wrongly and/or generating ill will with people that have different backgrounds? It does take some responsibility on our part. We shouldn't exhibit that pride with feelings of being "better than" anyone that does not have the same identification. We can be better AT something (like swimming and basketball) without thinking we are better than somebody. There is a difference.

So, who are you? I am thankful to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ who expresses my faith in the Baptist tradition...I'm a white guy that is mostly Irish and French Canadian, who is an American (and I love the Georgia Bulldogs.) Somehow I need to come up with a chant that includes "JESUS", "Erin go bragh" USA, and Go Dawgs! I'll work on that one.

I wrote an earlier blog about labels. You might find that article interesting to read if you found this one worth your time.