Games give golden lessons for life

The Winter Olympics are over. What, if any, lessons can people take away from the Games ? lessons of world unity; sportsmanship and fair play (or lack thereof); or national pride? Are the Games relevant any longer?

It’s fun and inspiring to watch the Olympics on TV. I am in favor of people taking more time for relaxation and leisure because I think so many people are overworked.

It is uplifting to watch athletes who exhibit patience, hard work, determination, sacrifice, gratitude and so many other virtues. Learning about the lives and circumstances of athletes who are devoted to their sports can also be enriching. When we see the heroic effort of each person to excel, our common humanity is highlighted and differences seem less important. The Games will be relevant as long as human beings strive to develop their athletic abilities. It will always be important to compete with the best from all over the world.

I did not watch any of the Games this time. Some of my favorite leisure activities are walking on the beach, watching movies and reading. Growing up in Iowa, during the winter months we ice skated on the creek in our neighborhood almost every day. I was very happy to leave winter sports and the cold of the Midwest behind, and my vacation choices tend to be hot and sunny.

Because of the media attention given to the Games, they are a significant forum for communication, some beneficial and some not. Of course, this means advertisement of products. But the Games can also be used for political statements or even terrorism.

Many of the sports have their roots in combat: For example, javelin, hammer throw, discus, shotput, fencing and martial arts. But there is current controversy about adding “combat” or “practical” shooting to the gun sports already offered (target shooting, trap and skeet). Opponents believe that this new event is an effort to provide legitimate civilian ownership of weapons that are normally only used by SWAT teams. Points are given for shots which would reach the head or heart. I hope the honor of an Olympic gold medal will not be given for such an event.

I am impressed by the “Olympic Truce.” Since the beginning of the Olympics, there was a truce between warring groups for seven days before and after the Games to allow athletes and spectators to travel safely. In 1994 during the Norway Games, the International Olympic Committee called for a one-day cease-fire in the Bosnian wars. The U.N. Children’s Fund then used this one day to vaccinate 10,000 Croatian, Muslim and Serbian children.

I am also glad to see the growth of the Paralympic Games. This is an elite-sports event for athletes with disabilities. An agreement was signed in 2001 ensuring that the Paralympic Games will take place shortly after the Olympic Games, using the same venue and facilities. From March 10 to 19 almost 600 athletes from more than 40 countries will compete in Turin in alpine skiing, ice-sledge hockey, Nordic skiing and wheelchair curling.

Despite the inevitable problems, I believe the Olympic Games have the potential to contribute even more to the relief of suffering and to world peace.

REV. DR. DEBORAH BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

A quick look at the highs and lows of the 20th Winter Olympics reveal many lessons in addition to those in this question. A top 10 includes: everyone has a dream; life is consistently inconsistent; it’s better to focus on doing one’s best than on being the best; down doesn’t mean out; practice might not make perfect but without practice imperfection is assured; we get by with a little help from our friends; we can’t control what others think of us; the leader of the pack is not always the winner; sometimes the number one is the biggest number there is; speed into the future but remember your past. There are highs and lows from the Games in Turin to illustrate each lesson.

As for relevance, world unity, “sportspersonship,” fair play (or lack thereof) and national pride are always relevant; aren’t they? The International Olympic Committee has added a host of sports to the Games in recent years to pique the interest of new and younger audiences. The addition of extreme sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboarding has been credited with increasing viewership and broadening the Games’ appeal; this seems so as covers on the last two regular issues of Sports Illustrated have featured “The Flying Tomato” and other U.S. snowboarding medalists.

It is true that changes have been confined to areas in which there already was interest and that one of almost everyone’s favorite sports is not included; where, for example, is bowling, a local, family favorite on a cold winter afternoon? And it is true that not all areas of our world are well-included, but I counted eighty countries qualified and entered at these Winter Olympics; isn’t that excellent? If you think not, wait for the next Summer Olympics which will draw more than 10,000 athletes from more than two hundred nations. I’m already looking forward.

(THE VERY REV’D CANON)

PETER D. HAYNES

Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

Lindsey Jacobellis of Vermont won the silver medal in the Olympic women’s snowboardcross event. Tanja Frieden of Switzerland won the gold.

Jacobellis led for most of the final run, establishing an insurmountable lead. She was so obviously cruising to a stunning victory that her coaches, family, teammates and friends exulted in her win well before the race was over.

Then, 100 yards from the finish line, with her nearest competitor 50 yards behind, Jacobellis, in mid-air, performed a small, stylish, flamboyant and utterly unnecessary gesture. She grabbed onto the edge of the board with her hand. Her equilibrium upset, she landed on her heelside edge, tumbling onto the ground. She watched in horror and disbelief as Frieden cruised past her in triumph.

Her coach commented: “She got through all of the hardest stuff and just landed that jump a little bit off balance.”

Jacobellis’ momentary decision is further proof that it is in the matter of the detail, the seemingly insignificant, that we are tested and often found wanting. An Olympian can attain mastery over remarkable feats of endurance and skill, but one thoughtless bit of grandstanding can force her to topple helplessly through snow and ice, only to see her opponents glide effortlessly past her. We can survive the hardest experiences and times, but the trifles trip us up.

A construction worker was building a high-rise. Reaching for a pipe, he removed his safety apparatus for a moment. At that instant, a co-worker bumped the beam on which he was standing, causing it to sway and tip.

The worker fell 110 feet, landing in a pile of dirt, miraculously missing rocks and debris all around. The paramedics found the man still breathing and placed him on a stretcher. While he was being carried to the ambulance, the man was able to open his mouth and even mumble a few words. What did he say, this man who had somehow survived a fall of 110 feet? “Don’t drop me!”

It is the three-foot falls that can cause so much trouble and hurt. So often we allow little things to get in the way of deep personal relationships. I have seen lifelong friends who never met again over some petty misunderstanding.

Small details have large consequences. Everything we do is more important than we realize.

Our society is addicted to bigness, confusing it with greatness. We mistake quantity for substance. We hail the sweeping gesture, the grand pronouncement. But life is not only about ultimates. God does not ask us to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Life does not usually demand spectacular achievements. It does summon us to heroic performance of whatever duties life places before us.

We can often surmount major hurdles that come up against us every now and then. But it is in faithful attendance to the little matters of everyday life that we attain the thrill of victory and avoid the agony of defeat.

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

I did not watch the much of the Winter Olympics. However, I’m glad they were televised. I read that more than 20 million people did watch, and I think that is an important group of people. From the reports I did see in the news, it appears that the new and younger athletes are talented, but very different in personal behavior. In the newer sports, like snowboarding, there was a much more casual behavior, but I think that is an actual representation of who they really are. I saw nothing wrong with issues of sportsmanship, although I did hear that one athlete was voicing a negative opinion about a teammate. I’m not sure if that is normal at this level, but if it did happen, the press probably overemphasized the problem.

The Games are absolutely relevant. I’m sure that there are thousands of youths in our country waiting their turn to compete. How the Games do on national TV is not a measure of relevancy; it is a measure of popularity.

SENIOR PASTOR

JAMES TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

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