Oh The Humanity

On my way to bed last night, I stopped in the living room where my wife was watching coverage of the Olympics. Two commentators were hyping the upcoming 4 X 100 Meter Relay. This is always an exciting event. With four distinct swimmers finishing the race in just over three minutes, it fits well our average attention span. Even people who don't generally enjoy swimming can sit still long enough to watch four men burn 120 calories in an all-out thrashing of the pool. Nevertheless, I went to bed without watching the race. It wasn't that I didn't want to see it. I simply couldn't sift through all the analysis to figure out when exactly the race was going to take place. The last thing I remember was the voice of one of the commentators. "I have calculated this a hundred ways, and it just comes out that this race goes to the French."

I knew what he meant because I used to do this. I never swam competitively but I ran track. On days in which we had meets, I could barely pay attention in class. I was too busy anticipating splits for my friends and I. If we each run a personal best, together we should post a...

Anyway, the commentator's reference to his calculations was a heads up. This was not going to be another Gold for Michael Phelps. This, after all, was what the story had become. It was not that these young men had worked hard enough in their respective art to reach the Olympics, or that they might have a chance to be competitive and maybe even win a medal. The news interest resided in Michael Phelps' outside but conceivable chance of winning his 8th gold medal and thereby setting a new record--not for swimming but medal winning.

I will pass on the easy fare here and simply get to the light in all this.

I woke up to find that despite all preliminary calculations to the contrary, the U.S. ended up beating France by a finger in a race in which five of the eight teams surpassed the previous world record. The race was nothing short of incredible. Every one who swam in it--indeed, everyone who witnessed it--will have a memory to cherish the rest of their lives.

All this, in a little more than three minutes. Of course, we will now have to deal with all the post-race hype. The event will take on mythic proportions and be capitalized until the last penny has been wrung out. But happily that will take a while. Today, it will simply be enjoyed.--a glimpse into what is good about athletic competition and the wonder of the human spirit. People all over the world will talk about those three minutes in a way that truly honors what these young men from these eight different countries had worked for and accomplished over the course of the last several years.

Earlier this summer, I had gone to Florida for a national youth basketball tournament. In addition to seeing a lot of basketball, I enjoyed the conversations that I had with the parents who had gone along. During one conversation, a man was telling me about his experience of seeing Michelangelo's "David." He listed the sculpture as one of the three of four most amazing things he had ever seen in his life. I found this surprising for the man had clearly seen a lot. He went on to explain some of the story behind the work, including the time it took Michelangelo to create it and its remarkable durability. He also explained the rationale behind the creation of the replica of "David" in 1910. He noted the time, technology and attention to detail that went into that work as well. He then told me that while for all practical purposes the works are identical, there is nevertheless something distinctly powerful and majestic about the original. I've yet to see either sculpture. But witnessing the look on this man's face as he was telling me about all this made me want to...

Hats-off to all the men and women who reached the 2008 Olympics. May their effort and the memories they inspire endure our appetites.