Awesome, In Theory

When talking about the Olympics in class recently, we discussed Olympism and the ideals of Olympism. To me, it seemed as if Olympism was just that, idealistic, and not much more. In theory, this concept seems great. It is very nice to think that everyone will come together to compete in these games for enjoyment. Another nice thought about Olympism is that everyone can put aside their differences for duration of the games and have friendly competition. Unfortunately, I think that is not at all how the Olympics are perceived by the athletes competing, members of each nation, and spectators around the world.

The Olympics are very similar to every sporting event around the world in that everyone wants to win. Like Herm Edwards famously quoted in a press conference, "YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!" Merely participating is not enough anymore. Was it enough for USA men's basketball to not win gold? No, and that's why they hired Coach K and transformed the environment of the team. Was it enough for Michael Phelps to win a few medals? No, and that's why he murdered his body and swam about 14 times to win eight gold medals. If it was enough just to participate, countries would not have training centers for children at extremely young ages to prepare them for the Olympic games ten years down the road. I remember hearing a story about the Chinese national beach volleyball program. From the story i heard, China had bought an island for all of their potential beach volleyball Olympians to live on and train on. They also submersed their players in southern California so they could play against some better competition throughout training. These things do not happen if the goal of the Olympics is to just participate.

The thought of Olympism also reminded me of similarities that surround the NCAA. The commonality is that both have great theoretical purposes. The Olympics are supposed to bring nations together who might not always have the same views and allow them to compete in friendly competition for two and a half weeks. The NCAA is supposed to provide a place where student-athletes can flourish as just that: students and athletes. Again, we would be lying to ourselves if we thought that the ideals of the NCAA were upheld, especially at the Division I level. Examining just men's basketball and football in the NCAA, you find that many of the student-athletes are not graduating from their institutions. They use their scholarship to have a full time job of athletics in hopes of reaching the professional level. It is very much one sided as opposed to the idea that each individual can succeed in both realms. Now, obviously there are those who can do both in intercollegiate athletics. And there are obviously some Olympic athletes who are there for solely the experience. However, in both instances you would be remiss to think that there is not a higher purpose. Nowadays, the purpose of both these events is to win and to get paid. This is from the athletes' standpoints as well as those of the sponsors.

Try to Understand

I remember hearing the issues about Rene Portland at Penn State regarding her policy about not allowing lesbians play on her basketball team. As the perception is that there are more lesbians playing competitive women's sports than homosexuals playing men's sport, I was slightly taken back by her policy. When I first heard about it, I guess I just assumed that since the perception was there, people would be more tolerant towards the situation. I also felt like if there had been any policy put in place on a team dealing with sexual orientation, it would have come from a men's team rather than a women's team.

Regardless of what my perception was at the time of Portland's incident, my views about this topic have become more informed since entering college. Playing volleyball at Ohio Northern, I have had one gay teammate and my coach for four years is a gay man. The teammate was a sophomore my freshman year. After the school year, he had quit the team and transferred to Findlay. It was during the summer that he had come out to a few of his upperclassmen friends on the team. Ironically, even with a gay coach, he was unable to come out during the season or while he was still a member of the team. I would assume that this had something to do with his thought that his teammates might treat him differently.

Having a gay head coach, moreso than a gay teammate, helped myself along with my teammates understand more about the issue. Without sport, I am not sure that I would have had the understanding that I have now. Sport has always been somewhat of a comfortable thing for me. Sport is what I knew, and it has always been the one avenue that I could better understand life lessons. This situation was no different. What I learned is that people often times place judgment without really knowing a person. This situation helped me wait to pass judgment until I saw what a person is really about. Before, it was easier to labels on people such as 'gay' or 'straight' or 'popular' or 'athletic.' Now, I think its much better to not label anyone unless you get a chance to know them yourself.

The one other big thing I learned is that sport allows you to simply compete and be an athlete or coach. When it came down to it, never once in a game or a practice did I think of my coach as being gay. Rather, I just thought that he was my coach who was trying to make our team better. With that outlook, I had much success and learned many coaching lessons throughout my years. If I had been blinded by something that really did not matter when dealing with sport, I would have hindered myself immeasurably in achieving my potential.

The Showtime Lakers Create a Sports Fan

The story of Dustin Carter, in my opinion, is one of great courage and fascination. Not only the fact that he was able to compete at the high school level, but Dustin was a serious competitor. He had a very successful career by anyone's standards and even made it to the state wrestling meet, without arms and legs. His appendages only extend to his elbow or knee joints.

We discussed in class how our athletic careers would have been different if we had been born the opposite sex. I believe the story of Dustin can also beg the question of how our athletic career would have been different if we had to deal with a disability.

For me, I have no idea what that situation would have brought. I do know that my interest for basketball had sparked from the moment I realized what I was watching on television. My mom loves telling the story of how I refused to watch cartoons when I was little. I only wanted to watch 'backet ball." This created a huge problem for me during the offseason. Growing up near Los Angeles, I was a huge Lakers fan when Magic Johnson was running the show. I was such a big fan, I remember crying when he announced his retirement due to his contraction of the HIV virus. It was a no brainer for my parents to buy me a small hoop for our back yard so I could practice my sweet, two-handed jumper.

With that type of background and exposure to the sport when I was very young, I cannot imagine my love of basketball to change if I had been disabled. At that point, it was not about watching the sport because I could necessarily relate. It was about watching the sport because it was attractive to me. I loved the way it was played, I loved the atmosphere, and I had a great team to watch and follow. Because I enjoyed it so much, my parents then would do things such as buy me a basketball and rim or buy me memorabilia and apparel. Let's say I had no arms or no legs. I believe my parents would have facilitated to my needs to still allow me to have a positive experience with the sport.

While I'm not sure I would have had a different experience as a child, I do think that I would have had a different experience later in life. I don't think I could have played varsity basketball or volleyball in junior high or high school. This would have then changed my decision on college and ultimately what I am doing with my life right now. The ability to play and do well at sports allowed me opportunities that I might not have had if I was not able to play at the levels I did. Therefore, my life over the past decade and a half would most likely have changed, but I do not think my love of sports would have.