Team (2)
The Olympics are now officially over, although many of us in the United States will see the final events and the closing ceremonies on NBC long after they have officially ended. The debate as to how these Olympics compare to the drama and excitement of past Olympics is already starting. The debate as to how particular athletes compare to athletes of past eras is starting as well. All of that is to be expected due to the incredible performances and the want-to-stay-up-and-watch competition that seemed daily throughout all of the Games.
But as I think back over the past two weeks, several things stand out to me that reinforce the concept of “team” (not in any particularly relevant order):
— the men’s swim team pulling off that one spectacular victory over the French that put Michael Phelps one gold closer to his goal
— the men’s basketball team putting all of their gold medals over the shoulders of Coach K and Jerry Colangelo in recognition of the gold-medal-achieving job that both did in putting this team together and then preparing them for the tough international competition
— the men’s volleyball team beating the dominant favorite Brazil in the gold medal match, and their coach whose father-in-law had been murdered in China the day after opening ceremonies needing to leave the court as he was overcome with the emotions as his personal roller coaster went from as low as possibly imaginable to as high as anyone could dream in the matter of two short weeks
— the women’s beach volleyball team who apart are two of the best, if not the best, individual players in the game and yet credit all their success to their team, their coaches, their support structure, and their country
— the women’s soccer team that overcame the dramatically clear antithesis of team in the last world championships and came together in a crystal clear example of team at these Olympics to win the gold
— the different US teams going to the different venues to cheer on the other US teams in their competitions – I don’t remember seeing that much support between the teams before
— the collapse during the passing of the baton in both the men’s and women’s 4×100 meter races and then the sweep of the gold medals by both men and women in the 4×400 races
— the men’s gymnastics team overcoming the loss of their two top performers and only experienced Olympians and winning a medal regardless
— the women’s gymnastics team falling short in the team (if only a silver is falling short) and coming back so strong in the individual competitions
There were so many more must see moments in these Olympics that reinforce the true Olympic spirit, and only a couple that I can remember that reminded me of the not so compelling egos of some athletes as they flaunted their victories or the shocking reaction to defeat of some athletes as they took out their frustrations in totally unacceptable ways.
As I think back on these Olympics, I think enormous pride sums up my view of our athletes and their performances. I personally can’t think of any prior Olympics where the drama of the events kept me so glued to the newswires and the TV. And even when I knew the results in advance, I felt drawn to the prime time replays to watch the victories for myself.
It’s been a great couple of weeks in sports and an incredible week of new life for our family! It doesn’t get much better than this!