Phelps Phan

OK, I admit it, I am an Olympics junkie.  I have a problem.  It is true.  I absolutely LOVE watching the Olympics!  I have been looking forward to 8/8/08, 8p.m. since January when I realized it was an Olympic year.  I was so happy when they decided to have the winter Olympics on an alternating schedule from the summer games, so that I get my fix every two years rather that 4.  I have to say it is much better for my nerves.  The funny thing is that I am NOT a sports fan.  I think sitting to watch a baseball game is a form of torture, not to mention an incredible waste of time.  Maybe it is something about the nature of professional sports that cheapens it and takes all the drama out for me.  But there is something different about the Olympics and it goes way beyond the sports to the athletes themselves that I just love.  I am completely fascinated by all the different sports there are out there, and how different people get involved in the different sports.  I love to see all the type of athletes there are, old and young, and all the different body types from the tiny gymnasts to the tall swimmers, to those big shot-putters - there seems to be a sport for everyone.  I am fascinated to watch all the sports, to try to understand how they work, what the rules are and how they are judged.  I think it is a crying shame that they don't show more of a variety on prime time TV -  as it seems all they show is swimming, gymnastics, and a whole lot of female beach volley ball (gee, wonder why.  Do those gals really have to play in little bikinis?).

 

There is so much more to the Olympics than that. I think my Patriotic side loves the Olympics not just because I love to root for the home team, but because I really believe in America, and in the American way.  I believe that we don't have to take children away from their families at the age of three to train in camps whether they like it or not, like the Chinese do, to produce great athletes.  I think considering that and the population a China, the Chinese should be much better than they are.  But they aren't because that is not what sport is supposed to be about.  It is so sad, and those poor athletes are afraid to screw up. Here, people are free to follow their own passions, and compete for the sheer joy of it.  American gold represents freedom at its best.   

I also love to see records broken!  I am constantly amazed to see a world record smashed!  And they always get broken.  It just goes to show that the capabilities of the human being is limitless.   The only limits are mental.  When someone breaks a record, they break a mental wall, and time and time again, once someone breaks a record, then people began to reach that level more and more.  It is easier because people know it can be done.  When someone breaks a record it is good for mankind.  It is a victory over the mind as well as body.  I am also amazed at what the human body can do.  When I remind myself that these athletes are human, just like me, I am even more impressed.   a perfect routine on the uneven bars or a perfectly synchronized dive is just jaw-dropping to watch.

I think what I really love about the Olympics is the human side of it all.  I love hearing the stories of the athletes, to learn what their lives are like, wherever they are from, and see their passion for what they do. I love to learn what the athletes went through to get where they are and understand what either getting to the Olympics or winning or losing means to them.  And every athlete has a story.  I find that I cheer harder when I know the story.

This year I am enthralled with Michael Phelps.  Being a swimmer, I have some appreciation for what he is accomplishing in Beijing.  How does he do it?  I don't know what I like better - when he blows everybody out of the water, like the relay where the camera couldn't zoom out far enough to get the Americans and the rest of the teams in the same shot because the Americans were so far ahead, or when he comes from behind to snatch the victory away from another at the last second, like the unreal 100 butterfly race last night.  That was heart stopping - .01 seconds difference!  It was that last stroke he took while his opponent who was ahead glided into the wall.  That made ALL the difference.  That is why he is so great.  That is why he is unstoppable.  I love watching him swim, and analyze his flips and starts.It makes me want to swim just a little bit faster ans workout just a little bit harder.   I am impressed with his story - his father left when he was small, he had ADHD and teachers told him he'd never amount to anything , kids picked on him because he was so tall, and his feet were too big, his arms too long, and his ears stuck out.  Then he started swimming, and his coach saw something there.  We can learn a lesson from that.  We should all try a bit harder to see the potential in others, and ourselves.  Tonight I will be watching when he gets his 8th gold medal of these games in the medley relay- hopefully, and becomes the greatest Olympian ever.  I'm so excited! 

 I think I'll be sad to see it end, and I know I'll be so sad when the Beijing games end and the Olympic magic goes away until it comes to Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012.  But for now I am going to stay up past midnight (an incredible feat for me actually - I am NOT a night person) every night and cheer, and hopefully my jaw will drop and my heart skip a beat a few more times before the games come to a close. GO USA!