What a Contrast.

The Olympics are a mixed bag for me.  I love the quirky little sports that aren't all glamour and glitz.  I hate that bigtime professional athletes have taken over a lot of the sports.  Men's hockey lost all its appeal to me when it became the place where NHL "Dream Teamers" get to play.  Women's hocky, on the other hand is cool.  These chicks have to work their asses off to get to the Olympics and it shows in their play.  Interesting contrast, eh?

 

My second contrast has to do with the Chinese pairs figure skaters.  Go back 25 years ago to the first time China sent anyone to compete in figure skating.  They sent the team of Yao Bin and Luan Bo to the world championships when they had never seen figure skating before.  They'd only seen pictures of the moves they were to perform.  They travelled alone because they didn't have the budget for a coach.  They placed last.  Yao later recalled how people in the crowd laughed at them and the way they skated.  That experience, along with placing last at the World Championships in '81 and '82 and the Olympics in 1984, gave Yao the determination to make China a powerful force in figure skating. 

 

Now jump forward 25 years.  Yao Bin is the coach of the Chinese pairs figure skaters.  His teams took Silver, Bronze and 4th place in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.  What a wonderful contrast.

 

My last contrast has to do with two American Athletes... Bode Miller and Joey Cheek.  Miller is the alpine skiing super star who was on the cover of so many magazines and lead guest on so many talk shows because he was primed to take home gold medals in his prestigious events.  He made brash comments about how he liked to party and drink.  He was bigger than life.  He was a total flop when it came time to race.  After dominating the sport for the last few years, he didn't get close to the podium.  He made a few terse remarks to the press and then skulked off.  One comentator suggested that he might have skied better if he was drunk. 

 

Joey Cheek is the anti-Bode.  He comes from a modest background and competes in the less glamorous sport of speed skating.  You don't often see speed skating televised outside the olympics.  He was inspired by his mentor to not only skate well, but also to give of his heart to people in need.  He planned a speach in case he won, worrying that he was going to jynx his chances at winning a gold medal in the 500 meter race.  He won anyways and his speach turned the Olympic press corps on its ear.  Instead of whooping it up and trying to get product placement for his sponsors like Bode would have done had he won, he talked about the hardship faced by families and children in Africa.  He donated the $25,000 that the Olympic Committee will give to him for winning a gold medal to a charity that helps children in need in the country of Chad.  He challenged his sponsors to match his donation.  (Nike did..  kind-of.  They donated $30,000 of "product".  The kids will still be starving and sick, but at least they'll have nice shoes.   Sorry.  I had to say that.) 

 

What is the difference?  In my eyes Joey Cheek is a winner, and Bode Miller is a loser.... and that has NOTHING to do with which one of them won a medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics.  Why is it so normal for an athlete to be brash and egotistical and why is it so unusual for one to be humble and giving?  That's the $25,000 question (+ $30,000 of product on the side). ;)

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Pete