08-08-08

Is anybody else looking forward to the Olympics? Often times as U.S. citizens, I think that we take things for granted. Unfortunately, I think that the Olympics is an example of this. I know that a lot of people write the games off as not being important. A perfect example of this is the NBA basketball players who decline the opportunity to represent our country. I checked the roster for our bronze medal team last Olympics and was shocked to see Lamar Odom's name listed. That makes me sad. I think that the Olympics should be an opportunity for us to show national pride. It isn't every day that we get to see people compete to find out who is the best in the world in so many events. In fact, it is only every 4 years. There are so many great stories about how the athletes get to the point of being able to compete in the world-wide spotlight. I've always enjoyed the Olympics in some capacity, but I think the fact that the 1984 Olympics were held so close to my home had a lot of influence on that.

Although we may not take the Olympics as seriously as I would like, I know that is not the case in other countries. I recall that during the 1996 Olympics I was serving my mission in Ecuador. I was serving in the coastal town of Playas (which translated means beaches). It was late in July when word got out that this man had won a gold medal:
Who is this man? It is Jefferson Perez; the only Ecuadorian to win an Olympic medal. He is widely regarded as the greatest athlete in Ecuadorian history.

In Ecuador soccer is the most popular sport. When there are big matches fans will watch the games on T.V. and when their team scores a goal they go crazy. Part of the craziness will include jumping in your car and driving around honking your horn, playing whatever musical instrument you have as loudly as possible, shooting your gun into the air, or any other way of making the maximum amount of noise. This all happens after each goal (since soccer is kind of a slow moving sport and goals don't occur very frequently, there is plenty of time between goals to accomplish all of this). I bring this up because the day of Jefferson's victory this same thing occurred, but on an epically grander scale.

My companion at the time was Elder Flor, who was from the northern part of the country. When he heard the news, he burst into tears, as did the person who told him. Elder Flor wasn't too fond of North Americans, so after getting himself together he proceeded to tell me how I wouldn't understand how significant this was for his country and went off on some tirade. Honestly, he was right. After all, the U.S. brings back quite a few gold medals every four years. I couldn't understand what it would be like to only have one Olympic medal in the entire history of my country competing. In fact, the U.S. has won a total of 2,188 medals in the Summer Games (of which, 894 were gold).

Now here is the kicker. Do you know what "sport" Jefferson was competing in? Maybe this video will help you:



That's right, it was the ever popular race walking. I'll admit that it is a little bit comical. If you understand Spanish, the commentator seems a bit over the top, but in his defense Ecuador has never been first before. This victory inspired the people of Ecuador. Jefferson proved that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish whatever you set out to do. He competed in the following two Olympic Games and finished 4th both times, which is probably the worst place you could finish in. In what is likely his final Olympics, Jefferson will be competing in China. He is one of the favorites to win. Here is a much shorter video about his upcoming race:



I don't like to politicize the Olympics, so I won't get into questioning how China got the Olympics in the first place. However, the threat of terror is a little bit of a concern. Hopefully all goes smoothly, and we get to enjoy the Olympics for what they are. NBC has full Olympic coverage, and you can check out just about everything Olympic at their website or by clicking this sentence. The opening ceremony is on Friday night. Hopefully you will support your country and watch all you can.

A little spot in my heart will be cheering for Jefferson to win again, but the rest of my heart will be chanting, "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"