The Olympics have ended, leaving a hole in my daytime TV watching and constant monitoring of the medal count. Somehow I made it through the entire two weeks without blogging about how much I love the Olympics. Probably because I was too busy watching to sit down and write. I love that for a brief period of time, Trump and Hillary aren't dominating the news cycle. I love that athletes who have trained for four years (or their whole lives) in obscurity get their fifteen minutes of fame. I love that patriotism outshines politics. I love the feats of pure athleticism, the dominance, the strength, the speed, the grace, the celebrations. And this year particularly, I loved how many of the athletes gave glory to God in their own unassuming ways. And the media just ate it up.
Consider Abbey D'Agostino, the American runner who wound up injured after colliding with New Zealander Nikki Hamblin. D'Agostino went to her fellow competitor and helped her up after the crash. “Although my actions were instinctual at that moment, the only way I can and have rationalized it is that God prepared my heart to respond that way,” D’Agostino said. “This whole time here, he’s made clear to me that my experience in Rio was going to be about more than my race performance — and as soon as Nikki got up, I knew that was it.”
Or that Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles, easily the biggest female stars of these Olympics, both proudly spoke of their Catholic faith, not apologizing for it or making a big show of doing the sign of the cross seventeen times, but very simply acknowledging that their lives are about more than pursuing gold. Divers Steele Johnson and David Boudia also made it clear that their identities were in Christ, not solely as Olympians. And of course, the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, came back from DUIs, addiction, and depression to once again stand atop the podium. He credits "The Purpose Driven Life" for giving him perspective, and said that he has the rest of his life ahead of him to look forward to. And of course, Kerri Walsh-Jennings admitting that she was "born to have babies and play volleyball." How delightfully counter-cultural!
What a welcome change from the selfish egoism that dominates much of our world, the shenanigans of the pro athletes who jump from one scandal to the next, the constant war-torn strife in much of the developing world, the terrorist attacks, the suffering. With all eyes on them, these athletes remind us that there is more to this life. And among other things, that is why I love the Olympics.
