Olympics

"MODERN TIMES"

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

Lloyd Garver

In this cynical world, it might not be fashionable to admit it, but I can't wait for the Olympics to start.

The television coverage is usually infuriating. Sometimes, we see events whose results we read about two days ago. The commercials are endless, and do we really need to hear things like, "Viagra is the official E.D. medication of the Olympics?" Some of the athletes appear to be spoiled brats whose entourages are larger than some countries' entire teams. A dark cloud, laced with steroids and human growth hormones hovers over the whole thing. And yet, I'm still always excited to watch the games.

How am I able to put aside all the negatives, and still enjoy the Olympics? I got some answers to that question this past weekend when I went to the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. I was reminded of just how special Olympic athletes are. For many of them, their event is over in a matter of seconds. Think about that pressure. Think about the courage. Think about how much they must trust themselves. All those hours of practice, all the things they had to give up that other kids take for granted, all the money their families had to spend over the years, and they could blow it all today if they're just one one-hundredth of a second slower than somebody else. Their dreams come down to the blink of an eye. What if they happen to have a cold today? What if they just don't feel right? What if they had some bad clam sauce last night? It's over, that's what.

Perhaps the closest analogy for non-athletes is when a couple is on the Big Date. They're back from the movie, they're sitting next to each other on the couch, and one of them turns off the lights. Like the Olympic athlete, their actions in the next few seconds will determine whether they feel joyous or defeated. But if it doesn't work out for them, there will be other dates. If these athletes blow it, they may have to wait four long years for another "date."

As the swimmers got ready to race, you could see that these were not ordinary people. Their broad shoulders and almost invisible waists didn't look like anything I'd ever seen in a mirror. And then they did their stretches. Backstroke World Record Holder, Natalie Coughlin didn't just bend over and touch her fingertips to the ground. She bent over and touched her elbows to the ground! The only time my elbows touch the ground is when I fall asleep on the floor, watching T.V.

When they got in the water, any doubt anyone had about their being special dissolved immediately. They move with a startling grace. Those who make the team will be among the top 26 swimmers in the entire nation. I'm sure you're good at what you do, but are you really among the top 26 people in the nation at it? Maybe the top 30, but 26? There's no doubt about it – these are very special people.

But the more I watched them, the more I realized that these extraordinary young people were, in some ways, quite ordinary. They look and act just like regular teenagers. They slump when they walk, they wear baggy clothes, they have earphones glued to their heads, they laugh, they cry, they wave to their friends. They tolerate their parents at the restaurant after the meet, while they put away an enormous amount of food. I think it is this being "regular people" that makes watching them all the more compelling. It's not that hard to imagine them being the kid down the street.

It's this interesting combination of talent and dedication on one hand, and youthful ingenuousness and unpredictability on the other that makes them so fascinating to watch. We can imagine them winning a gold medal as the best in the world, and then two minutes later their parents calling out to them, "Hey! Stand up straight, and pull up your pants."

That's why I'll be watching the Olympics. And because at least one of the athletes can touch her elbows to the ground.