“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
--Theodore Roosevelt
The Athens Debacle over now.
No more games to watch, no more medals to covet, no more crappy judges and no more drop-dead gorgeous athletes. (to be more specific, swimmers)
I, being a typical sports fan, would be lying if I say I didn’t enjoy the Olympics. I usually go for the underdog (unless the crowd favorite looks, well, gorgeous!)
Back to the olympiad.
There’s plenty of time to cherish the Athens games, considering that it was really phenomenal. Exciting and Frustrating (if not for the others, then for me and my countrymen) but either way, fulfilling.
Exciting Parts:
· Michael Phelps’ glorious feats. Glorious, yes, but he wasn’t able to break Mark Spitz’s record.
· The Race of the Century: Thorpe-Hoogenband-Phelps water duel.
· All the matches of Pinoy athletes. (please make room for my patriotism here. I hope you understand.)
· The opening ceremonies
· The closing ceremonies
· Games, games, games!
Suckers:
· I wasn’t able to watch water polo and synchronized swimming.
· I haven’t caught the Race of the Century. (I was in school, listening to some boring math lectures!)
· The Olympics lasted only 2 weeks
· The 4 more years of waiting for the next
· The annoying, subjective, and good-for-nothing judges.
On the Annoying Judges:
A medal slipped from our hands because the judges favored the richer country, which is actually the host country. (taekwondo match: Greece vs. Philippines)
A research took me to similar cases that happened in the Athens games. And this question is raised: Who is judging the judges??
I’m not only taking the side of my country here but also the other nation’s athletes who endured tough preparation and scorching pressure. (Take note of the Korean gymnast who should have won a gold but got only a Bronze if not for the judge who gave him a 9.99 instead of 10! Bronze for Gold?! Talk about major frustration! (to the judges: here’s a round house kick for you!)
But then again,
Winning Isn’t everything.
Though this may sound as the whipped dog’s philosophy, Winning (big) should never be the goal. Remember that the spirit of those colorful rings is not about winning but taking part.
The story of the Lone Oman:
Mr. Abdullah Someone I forgot his last name) was the only athlete sent by his country to take part in the Athens games. He was alone, as in alone, and read this: he doesn’t even have a coach!
According to him, he was a self-taught runner. His determination to compete surged when a soldier in a race beat him. From there he trained himself, coached himself, etc.
For him, joining the Olympics is every athlete’s dream. And that, for him is enough.
Remarks:
Winners: Very Good!
Empty-handed: Fine, also. There are no losers here. But be sure you’ll do your best the next time.
Come, Beijing Olympics!!!
