The cheers and tears of the Olympics

I am not a sports fan. Neither is I an athlete. When I was a kid, I remember that the games I joined in were only “piko” and “bahay-bahayan” The other kids did not want me to join even in “taguan”. They said I was weak-kneed, “lampa”.
When I came to Canada, I noticed how important sports are in the lives of the people. The news always includes sports. There are winter sports, spring and fall sports and predominantly, summer sports. Children start n sports at an early age. My grandniece is already in soccer for kids at the age of three. She can really kick a ball. There are toys for hockey, tennis, and swimming. Parents wake up early to take offspring to hockey practice, working on balance beams, swimming, soccer and many more other sports. Body fitness is emphasized. Competing to win is developed early in the child.
And then there is the ultimate goal, not only of the child but also of parents: to become an Olympian. Sports are a multibillion business around the world. From the cap that an athlete wears to the shoelaces of the shoes, to the sports equipments, business empires have been built. Prominent athletes are among the celebrities in the world and among the richest. Is it any surprise that parents want their children to join this group of elites?
My interest in the Olympics did not start with the sports. Baseball bores me. I get tired waiting for the pitcher to throw the ball. Hockey is too rough. Basketball is a little more to my liking. It is fast and exciting. The rules are easy to understand. But I guess it is still not my cup of tea. I cannot identify myself in any of these sports.
My first interest in the Olympics did not come from the sports. I happened to tune in during the Los Angeles Olympics to a concert by the Three Tenors – Luciano Pavarrotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Love those three artists who belted out not only some classical pieces but also some favourite tunes. From the concert I watched some of the games in the comfort of my couch at home. The intensity of passion shown in the faces of the athletes held me enthralled. The reaction from the bleachers communicated to me and the nationalism reflected in the faces of the athletes when the national anthem of their countries was sung affected my emotions. It was not just skills in swimming, running gymnastics, high jumping, and other countless sports, it was the hopes, fears, anxieties, devotion and dreams of youth (and also the not so young) that make this quadrennial event an awesome celebration.
The opening and closing ceremonies are surreal. They express the host country’s best in history, art and literature.
The height of my enthusiasm in the Olympics developed to a maximum during the 2010 Winter Olympics hosted by Canada. The advertisement of the event was superb. You could not at the time turn on the television without encountering some music, faces of athletes and a little narration about the backgrounds, their hopes and firm belief in winning and the rigorous training they were having to prepare for the event.
I followed the day-to-day competitions on the showy hills, ice-packed venues and freezing gymnasia. I shared the joy of the athletes and their families for every medal won. I shed tears for those who fell on the slopes. I witnessed the anxious faces of fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters as they watched their athlete perform. The hopes and dreams of every Canadian athlete became mine too as I became a witness to their supreme efforts to win.
That was two and a half years ago but I feel like it was just a short time. The tune of the theme song of the 2010 International Winter Olympics “I Believe” remained in my head and I instantly recognize it when it is played, wherever I am.
It is still the theme song of the Canadian Olympic Team in the 2012 International Summer Olympics. It is a song that I share with the faith and belief in the Canadian Olympic Team. It is a tune that I hum with all Canadians as we won the eighteen medals in the 2012 International Summer Olympics. Its lyrics were the words I uttered for every failed attempt: “I Believe”
Everyone of those more than two hundred Canadian athletes who went to the 2012 International Olympics, whether they aroused cheers or suffered disappointments in their quest for their dreams, deserve an accolade for representing Canada in the 2012 International Summer Olympics. You all deserve the gratitude of a great notion for pursuing a goal that needs physical, mental, spiritual and social discipline, and yet could be gained or lost at the flick of any eyelash.
To the parents and other relatives who suffered disappointments in the 2012 International Summer Olympics, hold you heads high. It was not a loss but an expression of giving one’s best. As one athlete who came fourth in one of the competitions said, “I gave all that I have, but it was not enough.”