Da! Da! Da-dum-dum-dum-dum, da da da da da da da da dum dum da da dum!
For those who want the better version of one of the greatest songs in the world, you can follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diXUz0DrGG0
The best sports event in the world is upon us. Anyone that knows me or is simply around me every two years knows that there are few things in life I love more than the Olympics. Some have heard the phrase, "God, Family, Notre Dame." My life has tended to hold to "God, Family, Olympics." I honestly don't have any true connection to the Olympics besides simply the love of the event and the games. Although some would disagree for some outlandish reason such as revenue, the Olympic games are the greatest of all sporting events. Period. And if there is anyone who doesn't agree with me, I will argue with them until they do. Believe me, it's happened. In what other sport are you able to bring together thousands of athletes from around the entire globe to compete not only for circular pieces of metal but more importantly self and national pride and the feeling of truly being one of the best at your sport IN THE WORLD.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are upon us. My remote is primed and ready to flip between every channel owned by NBC at all hours of the day, and my laptop is ready to be logged on to various websites constantly, just trying to catch a glimpse of these athletes performing feats I can only imagine. Friday night, we will watch the opening ceremonies, and from that moment onward for the next 2 and a half weeks, televisions will be on at all hours of the day, people will rediscover their love of curling and men's eyes will be glued to hockey while the women find themselves unable to tear themselves away from figure skating.
It isn't the medals and the competition that has me coming back every couple years though. It isn't the wild hope that the US Hockey team will have another "miracle" and win. It is the stories that bring us all back each and every two years for the winter or summer Olympics. Everyone knows the story of the "Miracle on Ice." It even got a movie. In the midst of a time full of uncertainty and turmoil, a little bit of hope was shown for America when the USA hockey team came back from a 3-2 deficit to upset Russia in the 1980 Olympics. The story that still defines the Olympics, particularly the Winter Games in my eyes, however, is the story of Dan Jansen. It is a story that never fails to bring tears to my eyes and truly exemplifies not only the American and Olympic spirit but also the human spirit in a way few other stories do. VISA recently used it in an advertisement, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWYRH5jnQBo To be honest, I could write an entire second article just on Dan's story, but in the interest of brevity, I will simply include a link to a great article written on it by Mike Morrison: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/winter-olympics-jansen.html
In the world we live in today, it's great to see even just a small ray of hope that maybe, just maybe everyone can come together in peace. That is what's great about the Olympics. Even if it is for only a small amount of time, we all see that at least for two and a half weeks, we can all really live in harmony and join together not as hundreds of separate countries all with their own plans, but as hundreds of separate countries coming together to show the human form in its ultimate perfection. It isn't about one country, it's about the world. As Morgan Freeman so wonderfully says in the VISA commercials, "Go World." Let the games begin!
Sean McCullough
Social Foundations of Coaching
ND 2011
