Friday, July 27, 2012

Fixation Friday: Olympics!

*Warning: Sap-O-Meter Running High*

It's been too long since I actually logged one of these segments on a Friday. My apologies. I was traveling last week and the craziness before the travel didn't allow me to do anything but run around taking care of last minute errands. Anyhow, on with the show...

The 2012 Olympics start today. I am no-joke-pee-my-pants excited about this. I've always been a summer Olympics kind of girl, so this comes but once every four years for me. The first Olympics I can remember seeing as a kid was the 1992 summer games in Barcelona. I have no idea why it took me eight years of life to register the world's biggest sporting event when I have clear memories of things from before I was four, but that's how it is.

For as long as I can remember watching the games, they've been an emotional experience for me. I get caught up in the collective excitement of everyone around me and the patriotism that's okay (and even expected) to display. It's the Olympics. There's nothing else in the world like it.

There's something about witnessing athletes put everything they have on the line to win, at the most, a gold medal, or, at the very least, be able to look back at their performance and know that they held the world's attention and shared the stage with the best of the best. The honor that athletes display in representing their home and their countrymen is palpable. You can tell that each participant, while they'd love to go home with gold, is deeply thankful to even be there.

There's a purity to the event and less ego than you'll see at any professional sporting match. I believe there is a tremendous amount of pressure on all of the athletes. They don't have the luxury to win or lose for themselves; when they compete, the hopes of an entire nation rest on their shoulders. We match their thundering pulses beat for beat because we, as a country, have sent our delegates to race in our stead. Our hopes are impossibly high for our champions, but we all secretly root for the underdogs. As 1980 taught us in Lake Placid, miracles can happen if you just believe.

I'm looking forward to spending the next two weeks parked on my sofa with my eyes glued to the tv. I hope everyone enjoys the spectacle tonight at the Opening Ceremony.


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