Olympics still the right stuff

To the editor: The Olympics only come around once every other year. I go through the same process every time: mildly interested, curious, obsessive then feeling like I have something seriously absent in my life. Athletics has always been a special pursuit of mine. I've found a way to keep at the fringes of big time sport - enough to know the guy who can get the great tickets, but not the guy he calls when he's looking for a third for the game. There's something amazingly magnetic about big time sports. But I guess it's how you define "big time" when you talk about the Olympic experience.

Those of us who were always good but not great, we understand the virtues of the pursuit of excellence in sport. The complete dedication it takes to make the commitment to push yourself to the limit seeking some kind of reward at the end of the journey. This reward was often the life lesson you were taught when relying on or leading a teammate you'd never associate with otherwise; when you were forced to fight through failure, often with sweat, blood and lack of sleep; when you pushed through exhaustion to complete your responsibilities at home and at school. Unfortunately, in some respects, "big time" sports have shifted the focus from the pursuit of the real goal to the pursuit of fame and riches.

I dislike most professional sports - not a fan. My firm had Pacer season tickets for three years and I think I took the tickets 5 times, and I don't think I watched more than 2 of those games to completion. I don't get it. I get the fact that I'd love for someone to pay me millions of dollars to play a game and wear some shoes. But I don't understand why people pay good money to watch it. There is little of nothing that professional sports offers us as a society, but I still find myself rooting for the Cubs.

The Olympics, however, tends to soften the callus I have to "big time" sports. These are people whose parents risked everything and lived in an RV in order to let Jr. pursue his dream to steer the USA to Gold in the Olympic Bobsled. For what? There is no sneaker deal or Wheaties box for this guy, much less a multi-year/multi-million contract. Why do we even care?

We care because the Olympics represents what's good about sport. Although we can point out some flaws with the vision of the Olympics, (me personally...I miss the Soviet Bloc in Olympic Season) the end of day analysis provides us of visions of athletes uncontrollably in tears watching the flag rise to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner or of their parents, families and friends celebrating or mourning the results. The results of these games represent hours, months, years - thousands and thousands of real dollars or opportunity cost - something that means much more than sneaker deals and celebrity. But more to me, the pictures of these athletes that, in many cases, have put their lives on hold to completely dedicate themselves to this pursuit, holding their cell phones and other recording devices, putting on some kind of record the pomp and circumstance of the opening or closing ceremonies. Seeing those young kids with those stars in their eyes reminds me of the pure and simple beauty of sport. The lessons they have learned are more the symbol of the pursuit of those thousands of young people who have joined this pursuit and failed; those that understand the complete dedication to a cause, rather it be to the arts, athletics or religion.

They understand the underlying beauty of risking everything for a $300 medal, 3 minutes on the podium and the moment of time to realize that you are the fortunate one that somehow survived this rise to the "big time."

Long live the Olympics!

Bryan Alexander

Portland[[In-content Ad]]