lets talk about that thing we’re not saying, but all thinking:
how amazing is it that the first thing the athletes who haven't placed are hearing is ‘well
done, you must be so proud’? and rightly so; they should be proud. they're competing amongst the best athletes on the planet. so why is it then
that the first thing australian athletes are hearing from their olympic
commentators is ‘so disappointing. you must be gutted. what happened?’ errrm no, i’m
sorry australia, what happened to you? it’s the olympics, not some school sports day. you're normally so.... nice.
i am by no means a sports fan, and have largely taken to not
watching TV (and blatantly bagging on all forms of media coverage) this past week, but to hear reports of how poorly these athletes
are being treated is just offensive. as an australian, i feel absolutely
appalled to see headlines back home read ‘darkest days since gallipoli’; a direct reference to the battle of gallipoli - the first major battle
undertaken by the australian and new zealand army corps...
in WWI. which, by my reckoning, is a far cry from being the same thing
as an athlete missing out on gold but instead wining a silver medal – the
second best person in that sport in
the whole world. am i crazy?
the BBC ought to be commended; their coverage and approach
to the athletes has been absolutely amazing. they are inspiring a generation
with their encouragement and enthusiasm toward not just the gold medalists, but those not placing or hitting their
personal bests. these athletes will be the role models of this generation, and
we should be commending them all
for their achievements, not just the ones that come away with gold medals. perhaps if we don’t, then not only are kids who can’t play sport but can play an instrument going to get
tormented at school next week, but the small child that comes fourth in his
school sports day is going to get bullied and ridiculed and feel that he is not good, and BOOM, we’re back to Teen Suicide Central because
no-one went up to the woman who came 17th in the world (let’s
keep in mind, that’s still a fantastic achievement) and said “WELL DONE. YOU
MUST BE SO PROUD OF YOURSELF, BECAUSE EVERYONE IN AUSTRALIA IS”.
winning’s not everything, folks. it’s the taking part that counts ("spoken like a true australian" you're all saying. except... not, because although i have less interest in watching the olympics than watching paint dry, i still know about positive reinforcement and negative feedback and how not to talk to people), and on this global scale, to have been
included as part of your country’s olympic squad is an absolute achievement in
itself. to all the olympians; whether you’ve won a medal, broken a record or
just taken part: well done. you should all be very proud of yourselves, because
your country certainly should be certainly proud of you.
now, get off my TV. i’m
bored of it.
