So as I predicted I’ve invested mass amounts of time watching the Olympics. It has been interesting seeing what athletes catch my attention, especially since there is not a dominant trend in my preferences. I love Apolo Ohno who has dominated for 3 Olympics now. I was also excited for Seth Wescott of the U.S to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals for snowboard cross. I apparently like the U.S. athletes that dominate from Olympics to Olympics. But on the contrary I was glad for the Russians to finally lose their streak of dominance in pair’s figure skating. I guess I only like dominance from my home country. But I don’t feel like I should appreciate dominance. But when you watch an athlete that has refined their skills to a point where when they compete its obvious that they are going to win because they are so solid in what they do, you can’t help being impressed. It’s easy to respect someone who has worked that hard to achieve perfection (or something close to it). Aside from stories of dominance I also love the stories about the athlete’s who have been to previous Olympics and did horribly and then come back and do really well. I love the stories about the athletes that are inexperienced and have never been before and they come from out of no where and beat one of the dominant athletes that were predicted to win.
Another story I thought was interesting was Dale Begg-Smith in the men’s moguls who left Canada and became a citizen of Australia so he could more freedom to pursue his goals. I respected that he wanted to have a multi dimensional life and not only focus on his athletic career but also wanted to run his own business. To me that wasn’t a story of betrayal but of hard work and balancing his life. I also liked the guy from Canada that beat Begg-Smith for the gold. I liked seeing how he was motivated by his brother’s disability and that watching his brother push his limit inspired him to do likewise.
Of all the athlete’s I took preference for the most random was the German figure skating pair’s couple. For their first program they wore their weird clown outfits but nailed their routine. For the final I was having a hard time being impressed by anyone because they kept falling and I was ranting about how no one deserved to win. Then the German couple went and fell. Oddly I still wanted them to win and kept rooting for the remaining pair’s to all fall so the German’s could still win- didn’t happen. It was very illogical.
I’m glad there is not a dominant trend in the athlete’s and stories I enjoy. It proves that respect can come in various forms; there is not one path everyone should take. People can learn things and find success at their own pace and at their own time. Not just Olympians, but everyone. We are all different and have our own stories. I can respect a lot of different types of people and the stories that got them to where they are today. In regards to my job and the stories I hear the same concept holds. Every story of a struggling reader that learns to overcome their challenge is impressive regardless of the path they took to get there. Here is one of our latest success stories that tells another story of success: