Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sports: Olympics to Pick Up Games

I have decided that sports either bring out the best or the worst in people. Whether it be in the Olympics, a college game, intramurals or a pick up game. I really started thinking about this as Jonny was playing basketball with some guys today. He always gets so excited to play and it puts him in a good mood. There was a guy in this game though who was ridiculous. He was acting very childish and if someone asked him to stop he freaked out at them. When someone accidently fouled him he yelled the f-word and complained for the next half hour. I have noticed the same thing in intramural games. I think those games cause people to do things they would never do in normal situations. (Funny story found here.) Or take college sports. There was a football game this year where one of the players who rarely played got a touchdown. He was so happy and he and the rest of the team celebrated together. On the other side you have this girl. (Crazy video here. If you haven't seen it I recommend watching.)
Is winning the game really that important? I have also seen it in the Olympics. You have people like Lindsey Jacobellis who has missed out on gold twice now and still remains positive.
Then you have athletes like Plushenko who publicly complain about the results and insult the skills of the winner. Saying "You can't be considered a true men's champion without a quad." (Full article found here.) Now I agree that Lysacek should be doing a quad but when it comes down to it he executed every jump far better than Plushenko. I hate responses like this because it takes the focus away from the winner who deserves to be celebrated. I must say that Lysacek has handled everything very well. He makes it known that he thinks he deserved the gold without being rude to Plushenko. Compare that to Shani Davis who went up and congratulated and hugged the guy who unexpectedly beat him. Finally, I love the passion people in the Olympics have for their sports. I think this is sports bringing out the best. Take Lindsey Vonn. She always has injuries and set backs but she has never let that stop her. When she won gold I was so happy for her.
I actually teared up when she was celebrating with her husband. I love to see the dedication that these people have. I love it even more when their sport brings out the best in them and they enjoy celebrating and competing with those who share their love.

2 comments:

Susan R said...

Totally depends on the person. Most "normal" human beings can enjoy a nice competitive game together and not burst a blood vessel when things don't go their way. I say the best athletes are the ones having the most fun. The ones that take themselves too seriously should be treated like hari krishna's.....AVOID THEM.
That BYU vs. NM game was the most wicked thing I've ever seen. Emily and I were watching that game. I seriously wanted to jump on the field and bring it to Lambert. She is dubbed the hari krishna of all time.
BTW...I mailed out you lip balm on Friday.

Greg and Betsy Rose said...

Good stories. I guess if you are going to like sports, you have to put up with the bad stuff, unfortunately.