The Olympics: Still a Bright Light for Humanity

Full disclosure, I am an Olympics junkie. This is in part due to the typical reasons: 1: They’re sports 2: There are so many sports it’s like a gourmet buffet, not just one delicious entree 3: They only happen for a brief time every two years. 

Going a bit deeper now: 4: The human element. The perseverance through obstacles and dedication to their craft that help define so many of the athletes. 5: The sense of uplift, awe and appreciation from seeing people do something so incredibly well. These two really speak to the core of why sports are so engaging. Whether at the Olympic, professional, collegiate or other level, with sports we can plainly see the effort that athletes are putting forth. We can see their faces and get a sense for the pressure they are under, and the determination they use to deal with the pressure. Moreover, we can clearly see success and failure… sometimes happening to the same person. One minute a gymnast sticks a landing, completing a medal-winning routine. Then, in the blink of an eye during a high-flying bar routine, the gymnast slips off and falls to the mat, dashing any hope of a medal. These attributes exist elsewhere too, but it’s not so easy to see with most other professions or activities. The connection between athlete and spectator is unique.

Without borders

As a result of this special human connection between athlete and spectator, borders begin to fade. It doesn’t matter what city or state the athletes are from. They’re Americans. We root for them. There are precious few positive events that bring our country together. The space program used to be one. I remember watching space shuttle launches with our entire elementary school in an assembly in the gym. They brought happiness and inspiration to kids and adults alike. Older generations have told me prior programs like Apollo, and especially the moon landing, brought similar common joy. But unfortunately, the space program doesn’t provide this national unity anymore. Maybe it will again when we reach a major milestone, like sending people to Mars.

But the Olympic enthusiasm doesn’t stop a country’s border. In Rio, in the men’s 100m butterfly, a young man from Singapore set a new Olympic record while beating three veteran swimmers, one from the United States. It was a happy outcome all around, with the US veteran complementing the winner - “my hat’s definitely off to him.” (Source here)

This next example is an especially powerful one. During a heat of the women’s 5000m run, two women from two different countries fell after getting tangled up. They picked each other up and helped each other finish the race, despite one of them sustaining a serious injury. These two did not know each other before. They acted out of concern for one another as fellow humans, who have more to gain by working together than by being at odds. (Source here)

Where’s the data?

Scientific studies are valuable, especially in social sciences where emotion can easily take over. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology found that when adolescent spectators of soccer matches saw their country’s team lose, their attitude toward the country that defeated their team worsened. (Source here) This result seems to sprinkle a bit of water on the Olympic flame. But does the study really correlate with the Olympics? There are important differences. 1: The study used a single sport, as opposed to the sporting cornucopia that is the Olympics. 2: More importantly, the study looked at teams rather than individual athletes. Teams, much like other groups, establish a boarder around them and we spectators are a layer removed from the individual athlete.  It’s different when it’s a specific athlete. As an example, in tennis my favorite Davis cup team is USA. But many of my favorite individual players are not from the USA.

Are there studies assessing whether the Olympics really foster unity across the world? Such scientific evidence would not just remove the conjecture, but more importantly it could help fuel more events and ideas to bring the people of our world together. The Olympics should be but one tool in an entire workshop promoting commonality across the world. For now, I hope these thoughts I’ve shared keep the Olympic spirit going a bit longer. It’s only been a week since the Rio games closed, and they’ve already begun to fade, replaced with the news of the day that just keeps rolling on. Let’s keep the goodwill closer to the front of our minds, look for other sources of unity, and look forward to the 2018 winter games!

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May 31, 2020 update: With the Crew Dragon launch and docking at the International Space Station, the space program is once again uplifting Americans - both literally and figuratively! Thank you SpaceX and NASA!