The Thrill And The Agony

Oh how I love the Olympics! I have waited somewhat patiently in anticipation for the beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and have not been disappointed one tiny bit. I have watched interviews with past Olympians and remembered fondly their Olympic moments. I have felt the excitement of the current Olympians. I love that the world gathers together for this short amount of time to compete. I exuberantly cheer for the Red, White and Blue. Of course I LOVE when we win. I study the faces of the athletes as they raise OUR flag and play OUR national anthem. I see pride for our country and pride for the accomplishments. The camera will land upon the weeping faces of the family members in the crowd and they, too, are bursting. The family, the athletes and fellow attendees (and some of us at home watching) whisper the words to our national anthem and for a brief moment we are all united.

I remember watching the Olympics as a kid. I revered Nadia Comaneci. I stayed rooted in front of the television to catch a glimpse of her. It didn't matter that she was from another country. She was perfection in motion.

Maybe some of you are too young to remember the television series The Wide World of Sports. It was a sports anthology that ran from 1961 to 1998. It highlighted athletic competitions. It always began with:

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport! The thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat! The human drama of athletic competition! This is ABC's Wide World of Sports!


I remember letting those words sink in...the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I would watch the athletes, scanning faces to capture a glimpse of their reaction to their performance.  I wanted to run faster, jump higher, tumble perfectly and perform fearlessly right beside them and feel that victory first hand. Of course, I'm not quick enough to get out of my own way, so...I watch.

I still scan the faces. I get so excited for the winner (even if they aren't from USA). The thrill of victory is tremendously contagious. I usually root for the underdog. Sometimes that works out pretty good for me and other times...not so good. That's when the agony of defeat rears its ugly head. You almost feel the disappointment emanating through the television screen.

The 2012 Summer Olympics will soon be something of the past. Athletes will begin training for 2016. There isn't much time for looking back. Their sights will be set on the future and the winnings and failures will soon become a memory. Maybe, as Miley Cyrus sings in her song, "it's all about the climb."