Summon The Heros
Jul. 27th, 2012 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cinema_babeThe Olympic Games opened tonight (actually since the UK is 5 hours ahead of where I am they will probably open early afternoon my time but they didn't begin broadcasting them here until about 7:30pm).
I love it when all the countries come parading in (and hate it when they cut it to commercials, grrr). I love seeing the big boisterous American contingent and you really do get to see the personality of the countries in their uniforms.
But you know what really moves me? That sole athlete from Andorra or The Federated States of Micronesia or Nauru.
They have no corporate sponsorships.
Their countries don't have a lot of training money to give them.
They train away from home and friend and family 9, 10, 11 months out of the year.
You know that right now (in the type of humble house that most of us have never lived in) there are 20 people crowded around a television watching their child, sibling, cousin, that crazy kid from next door, take his or her moment on the world stage and nations cheer their name. They may be favored to come in last in their event but they are there doing their country and their small villages proud.
Along those same lines, the sports I like to watch usually don't have a lot of Americans competing. I like things like the equestrian events (those horses deserve a medal too!), fencing and field hockey. Don't get me wrong, I like men's beach volley ball as much as the next girl (have you *seen* the Brazilans!) but it's the sports I know next to nothing about, never see and whose athletes names no one will ever remember that make the Olympic Spirit real for me.
When they give that last burst of speed or jump an eighth of an inch higher, it is as much about the passion and love of what they do as it is going for the win.
On another note, these are the Olympic mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville. They are supposed to be drops of steel from the last girders welded into the Olympic Stadium. That cycloptian (huh?) eye represents a digital camera. Mandeville in particular, is the mascot for the Paraolympic games which are helps immediately after the Olympics.
So what do you think of Wenlock and Mandeville?
(BTW: Lest you think the title of this blog post is just pretentious, Summon the Heroes is the title of that ubiquitous music they use here in the US for the Olympics. It was written by John Williams of Start Wars fame.)
I love it when all the countries come parading in (and hate it when they cut it to commercials, grrr). I love seeing the big boisterous American contingent and you really do get to see the personality of the countries in their uniforms.
But you know what really moves me? That sole athlete from Andorra or The Federated States of Micronesia or Nauru.
They have no corporate sponsorships.
Their countries don't have a lot of training money to give them.
They train away from home and friend and family 9, 10, 11 months out of the year.
You know that right now (in the type of humble house that most of us have never lived in) there are 20 people crowded around a television watching their child, sibling, cousin, that crazy kid from next door, take his or her moment on the world stage and nations cheer their name. They may be favored to come in last in their event but they are there doing their country and their small villages proud.
Along those same lines, the sports I like to watch usually don't have a lot of Americans competing. I like things like the equestrian events (those horses deserve a medal too!), fencing and field hockey. Don't get me wrong, I like men's beach volley ball as much as the next girl (have you *seen* the Brazilans!) but it's the sports I know next to nothing about, never see and whose athletes names no one will ever remember that make the Olympic Spirit real for me.
When they give that last burst of speed or jump an eighth of an inch higher, it is as much about the passion and love of what they do as it is going for the win.
On another note, these are the Olympic mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville. They are supposed to be drops of steel from the last girders welded into the Olympic Stadium. That cycloptian (huh?) eye represents a digital camera. Mandeville in particular, is the mascot for the Paraolympic games which are helps immediately after the Olympics.
So what do you think of Wenlock and Mandeville?
(BTW: Lest you think the title of this blog post is just pretentious, Summon the Heroes is the title of that ubiquitous music they use here in the US for the Olympics. It was written by John Williams of Start Wars fame.)
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Date: 2012-07-28 02:37 pm (UTC)