I love the summer Olympics.
It’s like a special treat, during these long months when network TV is mostly
showing re-runs, to see some fresh programming.
It makes me happy to see other people exercising and/or generally
showing some spunk on TV while I sit on my couch, snacks within easy
reach. Also, the Olympics feel special
to me. I love the camaraderie of it all
(though I’m sure those competing against one another don’t feel the same
way).
It’s not that I feel solidarity with my fellow Americans and
experience a rush of nationalistic pride; it’s nothing like that. Maybe it’s seeing some of the strongest
people in our country showing that some of us can set our minds to something, follow
through and be successful. Maybe it’s
seeing these athletes perform so effortlessly.
Maybe it’s remembering when I used to have that drive and those same
aspirations.
I grew up in gymnastics.
As early as I can remember, I went to tumbling classes and I stayed in
tumbling until well past the age when it was cool. My grandma is a big USA supporter and one
summer Olympics, she went all out and bought me all sorts of cool USA gear. I didn’t realize at that age that I would not
ever be Dominique Moceanu, but that didn’t stop me from feeling as if she was
living out my dream.
I can’t help but see the other side of Olympic fame when I
look at Michael Phelps. Here’s a guy who
has been the face of the summer Olympics for the US for over a decade and
clearly has a love/hate relationship with the whole thing.
Many people must wonder what
is he thinking? Doesn’t he love all
this money? Doesn’t he have that killer
instinct driving him to win, win, win?
Doesn’t he want more gold medals?
Is he lazy?
I can’t tell. I can
tell this much: we are lucky that Michael Phelps ever met up with a swimming pool.
When he was a boy, his mom could have signed him up for golf
or lacrosse. He could have hated
swimming. When she found out he was a
good swimmer, she could have encouraged him to take up lifeguarding. He might have liked that – chilling in a big
chair with an umbrella, checking out cute girls. When she started carting him around the the
far ends of the earth to compete in every swimming match ever, she could have
put her foot down. He could have decided
that he didn’t want to become The Michael Phelps we know today.
And yet it’s 2012 and he’s still here. He lost his first individual race and
everyone thinks the sky is falling.
Maybe he was stunned that he lost; maybe he didn’t know it was possible
to NOT medal in every single event now that he’s become who he has become. Maybe he felt lighter; maybe it’s a burden to
carry so many expectations on your uniquely-jointed shoulders. Maybe he felt stunned and lighter – a strange
contradiction he never expected to feel.
It’s no secret that he could train harder. Which means that it should serve as no
surprise that he’s not a shark. He doesn’t
bite at others the way even his own teammates bite at him. I believe that he loves a competition, but I
could also see where he feels he’s already done what he felt driven to do. Maybe he’s gotten all he ever wanted and he
feels at peace with resting on his laurels, picking the races where he’ll take
fourth place. Or maybe he’s a three-time
Olympian in a sport that requires a lot, and he doesn’t have what it takes to
train hard enough anymore.
We may never know about any of that. I think that everyone needs to back off the
guy. Some people act like he Owes Us
something because Our Country sent him there to Represent Us and it’s all Very Important. Then again, none of us are exactly perfect,
and we can’t be exactly perfect even when it matters most. On one of the most important days of my life,
the day I was supposed to give birth to my son, I couldn’t. My body tried and tried and then it gave up
on me and my doctors had to resort to doing the work for me. Michael Phelps doesn’t have to be more than
me to continue to be Michael Phelps.
Four years ago, he wowed, awed, amazed, and shocked me – he was more
than I could have ever asked for in a US Olympic athlete. This year, he’s less than that, but he is
still who he always was.
Don’t worry – he’s enough.
And that’s true of all the other athletes we sent to London, especially
female gymnast Jordyn Wieber and male gymnast John Orozco. I say, be still and enjoy the show.
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