August 10, 2024

I love the idea of the Olympics – the every-four-year gathering of the best athletes from all around the world. At its best, it is a respite from world tensions and a two-week focus on human effort and competition that creates greater understanding and appreciation of our similarities and differences. I have spectacular memories of Olympic highlights through the years: Mark Spitz’s dominance; Olga Korbut winning our hearts; the US Hockey Team miraculously defeating Russia in 1980; the flaming arrow in Madrid that lit the 1992 Olympic cauldron; Mohammed Ali, perhaps the most famous athlete the world has ever known, shaking with Parkinson’s as he lit the 1996 cauldron in Atlanta; and so many more.

Watching the Olympics was so much easier when there were just three main networks. All I had to do was switch to Channel 7 (ABC) to watch every evening, then most of the day on the weekends. NBC has carried the Olympics since 1988, and, now, I’m told that the best way to watch it is on NBC’S streaming service: Peacock. I have taken a strong moral stand against streaming services, and I drawn the line at Peacock. Take that Peacock! You’re talking to a principled man who won’t purchase every streaming service. Sure, I have a few others. Apple TV+? Of course! Two words: Ted Lasso. Netflix? Come on, you have to have Netflix! HBO/Max? How else would I have watched Game of Thrones? Hulu? Yes! The Bear needs to be watched! Disney? It’s essential. But adding Peacock? No way! I am a respected educator and blog writer, and I just don’t go out there and get every single streaming service. I hope that my discipline can inspire all of you to make tough decisions like these.

My “cable” service is YouTubeTV. It costs me about half of what DirecTV costs (which I clearly spend on other streaming services), and I love it. It records a gazillion Olympic events on NBC, and I can choose what I watch. I have loved that. 

As I write this post, the 2024 Paris Olympics are well into their second week, and already there are many highlights that represent what the Olympics are all about. So here are my highlights from the 2024 Paris Olympics, so far.

• Although there have been problems and controversies, overall, Paris has shined in these Olympics. The backdrop of the Eiffel Tower is wonderful. But my biggest takeaway from our hosts is, when did the French become such good athletes? They are on the podium with the total medal count; they have the best male soccer player in the world; the NBA rookie of the year is French; swimmer Leon Marchand won two gold medals in two brutal events separated by just two hours; and so many more. So now the French are the best cooks, the best romancers, and the best athletes? What is going on?! I say, good for France! It has been fun to watch.
• Simone Biles came back. After a disappointing Olympics in Tokyo, the world’s greatest-ever gymnast stormed back and performed beautifully. Watching her perform, and seeing how, when she is at her best, she is so far superior to her competition, is something that I will always remember. And I am grateful to her for showing so many that mental health crises are real, and that they can be overcome.
• One of my favorite stories was Ni Xia Lian, the 61-year-old ping pong athlete from Luxembourg who won her first round game. Maybe there’s hope for me yet! Of course, she was a champion early in her life, and spoiler alert, I was not. My favorite quote from her: “My style is old fashioned, but my technique is advanced. You can always change what you do, always improve.” Awesome. And, sexagenerians rock!
• For the first time in twenty years, an American, Noah Lyles, won the 100-meter dash in a super close photo finish. I loved his appreciation for all the support his family has given him as he overcame so many obstacles to become the world’s fastest man. After the win, he posted, “I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why Not You!” As an educator, I am all about success stories like Noah Lyles.
• Katy Ledecky cemented her status as the greatest distance swimmer of all time, and is now among the most decorated Olympic athletes of all time. In Paris, she won both the 800 meter and 1500 meter races. The 800 was close, but she clobbered the competition in the 1500. This is her FOURTH Olympics, and she has won at least one gold medal in each. And if she wants to endure that pain and suffering of swim training for a while longer, she could probably win the 1500 meter race when the Olympics come to LA in 2028. Incredible!

And I will end with the two best memes from the Olympics:

• If you did not watch the men’s team gymnastics competition, you did not see the focus on the very last guy performing for the US team – Steve Nedoroscik, aka, “Pommel Horse Guy.” Nerdy with Clarke Kent glasses, and NBC had a timer on the screen whenever they cut to him, counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds before he performed. Most of the team members perform all or several events, but Steve was only there for pommel horse – the last event in the team competition. Twitter was going crazy with anticipation, and the team needed an awesome performance from him to earn a medal. And yes, Steve Nedoroscik took off his glasses, transformed from Clark Kent to “Pommel Horse Guy,” and came through like a champ. And here’s my favorite meme from USA gymnastics:

• The other awesome meme came from the team pistol event. The special equipment that shooters typically wear makes them look futuristic – glasses where one eye is covered and the other has colored lens, sometimes a visor, headphones to eliminate distractions, and more. Then along comes Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec, who wears, well, kind of a fall afternoon vibe – jeans and a t-shirt, and no equipment at all. Tweets and memes had him “just dropping into the Olympics,” or as a “trained assassin who was given one last job for his country,” or “as cool and casual as John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. When asked about his casual style, Dikec said, “I did not need special equipment. I’m a natural shooter.” Yeah you are, Yusuf. Yes you are.  

I’ll stop there, but I hope you can see how much I have enjoyed the stories and accomplishments in the Paris Olympics. The world has come together, competed, and come away a little closer. At least for a while.

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Post #114 on www.drmdmatthews.com

NOTES 

For the second summer Olympics in a row, Russia is not present. I don’t miss them. Back in Tokyo, it was because too many of their athletes were doping, and the government was trying to sabotage the drug detection data system. This time, it’s Ukraine. Being more political than I usually am in these posts, the Russian government is a terrible force in our world, and I question the motives of anyone who would support them. I don’t miss them, and I thank the Olympic committee for banning them. And I’m still mad at them for cheating their way to a gold medal in basketball in 1972.

Over 20% of Team USA hails from California, a percentage far higher than population would indicate. A very interesting article in the LAist hypothesized that beyond the weather, one reason for such a high percentage is the fact that California has hosted several Olympics games. Perhaps because of that, it’s not too difficult for Californians, “… to find an Olympian, making the feat of becoming one seem more attainable.” And Sally Ride said it well also, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” It’s one more good reason for choosing friends who are better than you. When you hang around amazing people, you’re motivated to be a little better. I like it.

And since you asked which American universities sent the most athletes to Paris, the top three are Stanford (37), UCLA (17), and USC (16). Go Cardinal! Go ACC! Go Big 10! Why is it called the Big 10 if there are 14 teams in it? I miss you already Pac 12. Do you know how many teams there were in the Pac 12? Twelve. Maybe we focused too much on academics in the Pac 12, so we just counted up the teams and let that determine the name of the conference.

Finally, I know that this post was a rose colored glasses post. I know all about the controversies. I am saddened by controversies that are political in nature, but I know that it’s hard to do anything these days without creating at least one political firestorm. People are eager to criticize, and happy to do so loudly. Other logistical issues, like the Seine River, were pretty rough, but that one may end up creating cleaner water in the future around the world. With these Olympics, I choose to have blinders on and focus on the positive, and there is so much to celebrate.

Photo Credits: X, and Fat Tire Tours.