Did you guys know that when I first went to University it was because I wanted to work for the Olympic games? The Olympics has always been a magical time in our household. Every night, we piled into the living room and spent countless hours watching the best athletes in the world in all their glory. And when I was little, it was a grueling four years between Olympics because they held both the winter and summer in the same year…so when it finally came around…it was a big deal!
I so vividly remember the Calgary Olympics and how spectacular it was to watch the torch make its way to the Stadium. My Mom even took me out to a small remote town to watch it go by in person. I was awe-struck and ever since, running with the Olympic torch has been on my list of “100 things to do before I die”. There is just an exceptional energy that comes with the Olympic games that seems to stop me in my tracks. I love it!
Of course, there is sadness that comes with it as well sometimes. I once had a chemistry teacher that went to Munich on the Canadian rowing team and as far as he’s concerned, those Olympics never happened. That time in his life never happened. It’s heartbreaking to think that his Olympic experience traumatized him for life and that he turned his back on his sport forever after that. It is however, the exception I hope and not the rule.
Over time, my love and appreciation for the games grew and I wanted nothing more than to be involved somehow. Sport has always been very important in my life and this event just represented the pinnacle of what it can do to a world, a nation and the thousands of people that patiently waited for their moment to arrive.
When my moment finally came along to take my first steps at getting my foot in the door, I quickly realized that there were elements of this passion that I hadn’t considered…most of which was the fact that I would be away from home and moving every four years. When I connected with people that were involved with the games, I realized that none of them had any long term relationships, any pets or even any furniture for that matter. Their life was at the mercy of the International Olympic Committee and their next choice location to host the games. Don’t get me wrong, this is a whirlwind experience and the job of a lifetime for anyone…except the homebody! When my first opportunity came up, to work for the World Cycling Championships, I cried for a week at the thought of moving. After five days of pacing around in endless terror, I concluded that this was not how my dream was suppose to feel. For all the passion and desire that I had towards the games and all that it stood for…it shouldn’t be this hard. There were simply fundamental things about who I was that couldn’t be overlooked for a job…any job.
At long last, the opportunity came and went. I felt relieved at the decision of letting it go and no more than two months later, I met my husband. It was my first of many signs reminding me that I had made the right choice. Life proceeded with the knowledge that I needed to do something closer to home and every two years, I would find my spot in front of the television and watch the magic once again!
This year’s Olympics though have raised a lot of questions about how Canada values sport. Already, we’re into day seven of the games and we haven’t won a single medal. Surprising? Maybe! Disappointing? Absolutely! A clear indicator that our country has failed miserably at producing world class athletes? Not so much!
The headline of the Ottawa Citizen this morning stated “Canada doesn’t really value sport” and that “Olympic medalist Silken Laumann challenges notion that nation has strong sports culture”. One look at this statement and I couldn’t even bring myself to read the rest of it because all I could think of was “whatever happened to sport simply for the sake of sport?” Yes, it’s true that our emphasis on funding may not equal that of the U.S. or many European countries but, dare I say it, medals aren’t everything and somewhere along the line, we seemed to have forgotten that.
All of the things that I remember loving about the Olympics; the hard work, the unity, the underdog, the opportunity for a country to show itself off to the world…all of these things seem to be getting lost in a flurry of politics, world records and endorsement deals. Where’s the sportsmanship in throwing your bronze medal on the ground or spending all of your air time criticizing the opening ceremonies? What happens to the lone athlete from Fiji or Zimbabwe (or Canada!) when the cameras only care about the winners? They worked hard to get there too…medals or not. And someone out there is proud that they did…medals or not.
While I watch the passion of my childhood disintegrate before my eyes, I can’t help but think that it’s certainly not our country’s value of sport that seems to be lost…but rather the priorities placed on the end result of such sports that seems to be losing its way. Sadly enough…I’m more fascinated by the commercials now than I am by the coverage.
Olympics of the past…I miss you!
I so vividly remember the Calgary Olympics and how spectacular it was to watch the torch make its way to the Stadium. My Mom even took me out to a small remote town to watch it go by in person. I was awe-struck and ever since, running with the Olympic torch has been on my list of “100 things to do before I die”. There is just an exceptional energy that comes with the Olympic games that seems to stop me in my tracks. I love it!
Of course, there is sadness that comes with it as well sometimes. I once had a chemistry teacher that went to Munich on the Canadian rowing team and as far as he’s concerned, those Olympics never happened. That time in his life never happened. It’s heartbreaking to think that his Olympic experience traumatized him for life and that he turned his back on his sport forever after that. It is however, the exception I hope and not the rule.
Over time, my love and appreciation for the games grew and I wanted nothing more than to be involved somehow. Sport has always been very important in my life and this event just represented the pinnacle of what it can do to a world, a nation and the thousands of people that patiently waited for their moment to arrive.
When my moment finally came along to take my first steps at getting my foot in the door, I quickly realized that there were elements of this passion that I hadn’t considered…most of which was the fact that I would be away from home and moving every four years. When I connected with people that were involved with the games, I realized that none of them had any long term relationships, any pets or even any furniture for that matter. Their life was at the mercy of the International Olympic Committee and their next choice location to host the games. Don’t get me wrong, this is a whirlwind experience and the job of a lifetime for anyone…except the homebody! When my first opportunity came up, to work for the World Cycling Championships, I cried for a week at the thought of moving. After five days of pacing around in endless terror, I concluded that this was not how my dream was suppose to feel. For all the passion and desire that I had towards the games and all that it stood for…it shouldn’t be this hard. There were simply fundamental things about who I was that couldn’t be overlooked for a job…any job.
At long last, the opportunity came and went. I felt relieved at the decision of letting it go and no more than two months later, I met my husband. It was my first of many signs reminding me that I had made the right choice. Life proceeded with the knowledge that I needed to do something closer to home and every two years, I would find my spot in front of the television and watch the magic once again!
This year’s Olympics though have raised a lot of questions about how Canada values sport. Already, we’re into day seven of the games and we haven’t won a single medal. Surprising? Maybe! Disappointing? Absolutely! A clear indicator that our country has failed miserably at producing world class athletes? Not so much!
The headline of the Ottawa Citizen this morning stated “Canada doesn’t really value sport” and that “Olympic medalist Silken Laumann challenges notion that nation has strong sports culture”. One look at this statement and I couldn’t even bring myself to read the rest of it because all I could think of was “whatever happened to sport simply for the sake of sport?” Yes, it’s true that our emphasis on funding may not equal that of the U.S. or many European countries but, dare I say it, medals aren’t everything and somewhere along the line, we seemed to have forgotten that.
All of the things that I remember loving about the Olympics; the hard work, the unity, the underdog, the opportunity for a country to show itself off to the world…all of these things seem to be getting lost in a flurry of politics, world records and endorsement deals. Where’s the sportsmanship in throwing your bronze medal on the ground or spending all of your air time criticizing the opening ceremonies? What happens to the lone athlete from Fiji or Zimbabwe (or Canada!) when the cameras only care about the winners? They worked hard to get there too…medals or not. And someone out there is proud that they did…medals or not.
While I watch the passion of my childhood disintegrate before my eyes, I can’t help but think that it’s certainly not our country’s value of sport that seems to be lost…but rather the priorities placed on the end result of such sports that seems to be losing its way. Sadly enough…I’m more fascinated by the commercials now than I am by the coverage.
Olympics of the past…I miss you!
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