Looking back
With the Beijing Olympics now complete, I have to wonder how they will be remembered and whether there will be a general consensus on the favorite moment.
There will be some disparity of course and much will be decided on upon national allegiances but how will you remember it? Will you remember it for Michael Phelps surpassing Mark Spitz’s Munich 1972 triumph and becoming the most decorated gold-medal performer in the Olympics, American women triumphing over Brazil in Football, the stunning ease of Jamaica’s Usain Bolt being crowned as histories greatest sprinter, the United States return to dominance in Basketball or still the magnificent artistry and passion of Argentina on pitch in winning Men’s Football?
It’s a challenge for me to corner one particular moment and beyond those brilliant performances, as well as showing my sympathetic side a bit, the real joy of the Games is the spirit of competition. I’ll never quite forget watching the interview of Ian Millar, who after nine Olympics won his first medal and talked of “the angel” with him during his performance. That special “angel” being his dearly departed wife of nearly forty years who passed away this spring and his dedication of the medal to her. I can’t help set aside some time in the next four years to watch and see if his children are able to make the Canadian so they can compete with Dad in the London Games as they hope. It likely won’t get a great deal of international coverage but the legacy of forty plus years in Olympics is an extraordinary commentary of the Olympic spirit burning on. There are many others of course, the heartfelt story of Germany’s Matthias Steiner winning weightlifting Gold is certainly one, as the image of his beaming face holding the picture of his wife is impossible to forget. And still I feel an enormous appreciation of world-champion Shanaze Reade going for broke to win Gold and while coming up short, the nineteen year-old ‘Brit showed a sense of determination and guile rarely seen. I appreciate those who challenge destiny, put it all on the line and know champions get off the canvas in life. Shanaze bruised but not beaten, will pick herself up and return as a champion because that’s the mettle she’s made up.
Unfortunately one the last memories I wish was different had to do with media coverage which for the most part was horrible. The days of rotating through coverage has gone and broadcasts are fixated on time-slots and advertising space. It was maddening to see network television focus upon one sport for hours upon hours without ever switching coverage and virtually eliminating coverage of classical events. Field events steeped in Olympic history were barely, if at all covered and its a stunning commentary to say that these Games had less live coverage of many top sports than forty years ago. Unfortunately this was very obvious as nations that focus purely upon “sport” dominated competition but received little recognition in the media. Yet while these events fell victim to marketing and programming “experts”, none was more obvious that Mens Decathlon winner Bryan Clay. The “World’s Greatest Athlete” joined the ranks of luminaries such Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, Rafer Johnson, Bruce Jenner, Daley Thompson, Dan O’Brien and Roman Šebrle, yet barely was more than a human interest story. I’m shocked, no, dismayed to report that I believe I posted results well before a few short repeats of his performance were televised. For the record Bryan Clay is a hero that transcends sport and should be acknowledged not simply for his athleticism but the type of leader he is. Future Olympics and all broadcast contracts need to recognize this problem or we’ll see the scope of the Games narrow to those that are only deemed "marketable."
So what was your favorite moment?
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