Some of the furor over the Opening Ceremonies for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics has died down now, but hasn't disappeared completely. Even if the subject were still at a white-hot stage, that isn't the reason why I'm sharing what might sound like an unpopular opinion--that watching this year's Games is still something worth doing. Let me explain why my family is watching it.
Some of you may know that I live in Mesa, an East Phoenix suburb. My mom lives in the Las Vegas area, near the suburbs in Henderson. She is also a major league (pun intended) Cincinnati Reds and Bengals fan.
While we do trade "news" on our baseball teams, mostly in emails and phone calls a few times a week, there's a small divide; my fave team has been the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2014 when I moved from Ohio to Arizona.
Something different has happened over the past few days, though, in our telephone chats; we have started developing a bonding ritual over the U.S. Olympic team.
(An aside: I mention our primary communication method--talking on the phone--which is the most choice tool for a Baby Boomer like my mom, who isn't agile/present on most online social media platforms.)
It started with her asking me excitedly if I had watched any of the U.S. men's gymnastics that evening. I replied that I hadn't, then turned on my TV. Sure enough, the men's competition was still happening. And luckily, NBC Sports is good about showing replays of highlights from earlier in the event, so I was able to see a few of the athletes she told me about and their great stuff (whether on the pommel horse or floor exercise routine). It was like we were watching it together, which my family used to do years ago in Butler County, Ohio.
Leading by Example
Why did we start watching the Summer Olympics? Part of it is because of the excellence on display by the U.S. (and other nations') athletes like women's gymnastics legend Simone Biles.
Biles has shown she is a class act for years, even in spite of heavy criticism at times, which my colleagues and I have written about.
Just a sampling:
Watch: US Champ Simone Biles, Without a Word, Dispels the Notion That Women's Gymnastics Is Racist (2021)
And now she's made history in Paris in 2024, becoming only the third-ever U.S. woman to win two all-around gold medals. That's extraordinary, especially at the ripe old age (for a gymnast) of 26.
The Elephant in the Room
What about the Opening Ceremonies or the men competing against women? The truth is that these athletes had nothing to do with the Opening Ceremony's planning or execution. They also are not responsible for the current rules that allow biological men to compete against women.
Read related:
The Backlash Continues: Tech Company Pulls Ads From Olympics As Boycott Movement Grows
WATCH: Female Olympian Forfeits After Being Forced to Fight a Biological Man, Global Outrage Ensues
There have been many more uplifting and emotional moments than dark ones in the Games, though, including a unique shooting competition entrant from Turkey, whom my colleague Jerry Wilson wrote about on Friday (see: In an Olympics of Blasphemy and Gender Controversy, Turkey's Yusuf Dikeç Is the Hero We Need). And touching back briefly on the men's gymnastics team: it was no mean feat, but the guys took home the bronze team medal--the first medal win for them in 16 years. That's worth celebrating.
Meet Paul Juda (Deerfield, Illinois), Brody Malone (Aragon, Georgia), Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas), Stephen Nedoroscik (Worcester, Massachusetts), and Frederick Richard (Stoughton, Massachusetts).
But the other part, as I mentioned, is the most important reason--that it's becoming a bonding point for me and my family. All of my family members live out of state. I'll cherish this chance to "spend time" with my mom in the future, I know.
Family Matters
Jade Carey, who's a U.S. Olympian from Arizona, talked in a recent interview from Paris about the stark difference between the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games and this year's. Remember that there were no fans and no family members or friends allowed in the competition venues due to COVID. Jade said, "It was amazing performing in front of such an energetic crowd."
Carey said after the competition, she and her family and friends went out to local restaurants to celebrate the team's big win.
"It was awesome to share all of my accomplishments with them," she added.
...
"That means everything to me," Carey replied talking about her family at the Paris games. "I missed them last time, so knowing they are here, being able to watch in person and supporting me from the stands... It means the world to me."
When you have family members to share the events--big or small--in your life with, it's more meaningful. There's no substitute for being able to look into your mom's or dad's (or sibling's eyes) and share a familiar look or smile; there's no substitute for the "I love you" you can whisper in their ear, or the "thank you" that they give you that often comes as a massive bear hug. You just can't get the same experience through a video screen. It's how God made us--to seek and need one another human being's company. And it makes no sense to me why anyone would need to apologize for something so integral to living a balanced and healthy life.
Go, U.S.A!
