Loving the Olympics

I just LOVE the Olympics! How can you not? Once every other year the most amazing athletes in the world get to show off and compete in a world-wide arena. And really, you don't even have to be a sports fan to appreciate them. How cool is it just from a "people can really do that?!?!?" point of view? My son, Sam, is in love too. "Mom, do you wish you could do that too?" "Mom, wasn't that awesome?" "Mom, the USA won another gold medal!" It could be in underwater basket weaving for all he cares, he is enthralled.

I keep ruining some of the suspense for myself. Last night when I was checking e-mail, MSNBC spoiled the men's 4 by 100 relay win for me. And yet, as I watched it later that night I was still on the edge of my seat. They were behind by so much! Maybe I saw it wrong (like 5 times) on the Internet. Maybe the USA doesn't win...but they did! I whooped and hollered like Michael Phelps and the others were MY teammates and friends. I do have a personal connection to swimming; it was my sport of choice for four years of high school and two of college. But it DOESN'T MATTER people! That was some exciting action!

At the risk of sounding sappy, I also like the personal stories they throw in about the athletes. It does make it more interesting to learn about the older gymnast from Germany who had left her home country to get treatment for her son's leukemia. And the love triangle between the Italian and French swimmers and his new girlfriend (who had recently broken his ex-girlfriend's 400 free record) made that race more fun to watch (both girls placed poorly). But, once again, it is the sheer incredibleness of the athletes, the record-breaking, the long-shots who pull through on a dream and a prayer--that is what I love.

Would I think it was so great if the Olympics happened more often? Surely not. But I would stop short of saying that the Olympics could ever be ordinary. Dara Torres, the oldest woman to ever make the US Olympic swimming team, ordinary? Michael Phelps, ready to break Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis' records as the winningest Olympian in history, ordinary? No...but I am still glad that it only comes every other year. Not for my own personal excitement or build-up, but because it makes me appreciate the athleticism and drive of the athletes even that much more. These Americans and other world citizens train their entire lives in hopes that they will receive recognition for their country. They are dedicated and disciplined in ways that are surreal to a recreational athlete like me. Because I am an athlete, I can understand the want to be the best you can be...but to actually get there on an Olympic level, it is rare and amazing.

As I write, Natalie Coughlin is on the podium crying to our national anthem as she is awarded a gold medal for backstroke. Turn it on...this is as inspiring as it gets!