"FINDING THE TRUE OLYMPIC SPIRIT" http://www.MelvinDurai.com/olympics3.htm
One of my favorite Olympic moments came at the 1996 games in Atlanta when Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia became the first African woman to win gold in the marathon. Several ecstatic fans ran alongside her for part of the race, screaming and waving the Ethiopian flag, while she smiled like she had just gotten her hair done. And been given, naturally, a shortcut. For a few minutes, I was an Ethiopian, cheering for this graceful woman who was proudly representing her famine-stricken country, outrunning some of the world's best marathoners, even a few who looked well-fed. While the Olympic Games often seem a contest to see which country can win the most medals and people get caught up in national pride, their true essence is the celebration of athletic achievement and the brotherhood of nations. A great Olympian can command respect from everyone, whether she's a Fatuma from Ethiopia, a Fatima from Pakistan or a Fat-Emma from Britain. If you watched the 2000 Olympics in Sidney and weren't touched by Cathy Freeman's performance, her victory in the 400-meter race and momentous display of both the Aboriginal and Australian flags, you are either lacking in Olympic spirit or still peeved that she dumped you in high school. Finding Olympic spirit isn't always easy. Just ask the Irish journalist who spent three days searching the shelves of an Athens spirits store. "There'd be a lot of demand for Olympic spirit," he later said, "but only if you could bottle it." Television directors need more of that spirit. Perhaps then they'd understand that our appreciation of athletes often crosses borders, that we can find pleasure in watching foreigners such as sprinter Kaitinano Mwemweata of Kiribati, even if we have no idea which planet Kiribati is on. When the directors cut away from a Russian shot-putter who has just dominated her opponents and is tearfully hugging her supporters, they rob us of a special moment. Never mind that she's from Russia -- her joy is universal. (And so is the joy of an American male who opens his mailbox and finds an Anna Kournikova swimsuit calendar.) The directors also rob us when they decide, during a medal ceremony, to focus on the gold medalist from America, showing barely a glimpse of the teary-eyed bronze medalist who has just won the first swimming medal in the history of his South Asian country, where almost everyone is known to swim, but only during the monsoon. I love to watch Olympic athletes celebrating their achievements, knowing that they trained extremely hard, whether they're Kenyans who ran up and down the mountain or Chinese who ran up and down Yao Ming. I also love to watch them congratulating each other, knowing that they're all winners, every last one of them who didn't pop something illegal. They can all call themselves Olympians. It's a great honor, being selected to represent your country. I consider myself fairly athletic, but I'd have to train day and night, get myself a personal coach, just to represent my end of the street. (Some of my neighbors are pretty fast -- you should see them chase the ice-cream truck.) If I won a medal of any sort, I'd ask my opponents to take a victory lap with me, even the ones from Kiribati. And I'd throw a party immediately -- not just after I passed the drug test. The Olympics are often depicted as US versus THEM, but perhaps their greatest lesson is that all of THEM are so much like US. ------------------------------- (c) Copyright 2004 Melvin Durai - Forwarded by www.goa-world.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/0FHolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> http://www.goa-world.com http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music http://www.mahableshwar.com/ Addresses: Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL to this page: http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
