It's opening Olympics night so a flurry of color, flags, and athletes is filling the tele screen. Sport, having always been a combination between entertainment and battle, is now filled with fashion, history, and pop culture. The announcers are commenting on the uniforms/outfits for the opening ceremony as well as the current feuding between nations, how the athletes got there, and the history behind their walk around the Olympic track.
I love the Olympics. I love that it's always been the same despite what's going on in the rest of the world - it's always been motivation and strength against the same.
When I was in highschool, Mr. Taylor brought us on Arete - Greek for excellence - a trip from Jerusalem to Egypt, Paris, Italy (multiple cities), Switzerland (multiple cities), and Greece (multiple cities). On this trip we ran, studied history, religion, philosophy, and life. I'm forever thankful for this trip and every 4-years the Olympics bring parts back.
During the first Olympics in Olympia (the "Ancient Olympics" (vs. the "Modern" - it's amazing the Olympics get a status like BC vs. AD)), it's said that women not only could not compete, they could not watch. Not being ones to take "no" for an answer, the women, however, would climb atop a nearby hill and watch and eventually they made their way into the games. At first it was 16 women competing, now it's thousands.
On the highschool trip, I got to run on the very first Olympic track through the arches and onto the dirt. I'll never forget that.
I love the flags, the races, the challenges, the meaning. Hurray for the Olympics!
No comments:
Post a Comment