pre-olympic blues

​It's been a long time since I wrote about anything other than books in this blog, so thought it was a chance to change that for today.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are upon us and I thought I'd share a few thoughts about how I feel about the games, this time around.

As a dedicated Olympiophile (Is there such a term), the Olympic Games have always been a source of great pleasure for me. Manys the time, I can recall being glued to the television for hour after hour of Olympic coverage, just reveling in the sheer spectacle of the event. Even the extreme nationalism was acceptable for those two weeks, although I do recall it going a bit over the top at Atlanta in 96. Nevertheless, the Olympics has always been, for me, a wonderful excuse to put away the worries of the world for just a couple of weeks and instead focus on the wonder of sport and the ability it has to bridge chasms of political difference and also remind us of the indomitability of the human spirit.
I always loved the "special" stories of determination and grit to make it to the Olympics. (I think here of athletes like Eddie Edwards (Eddie the Eagle) and Eric Moussambani (Eric the Eel). That's what makes the Olympics special for me and long may it continue.
I strongly believe that we will have some wonderful stories to come out of this Rio Olympics, that will warm our hearts and hopefully remind us that we truly are one world, one human race and we are all the same.
The decision of the IOC to include a refugee team in the Rio Olympics is an inspired move. The past few years have seen a massive upsurge in refugees, worldwide, but especially from the usual trouble spots of North Africa and the Middle East.

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I don't doubt there are some cynics out there suggesting that this is a move merely to boost a sagging popularity of a games already beset by many problems before they even kick off. I want to be more generous than that, though, to the IOC. I want to congratulate them for have the incredible foresight to see the current world, the way it truly is, with millions of refugees struggling for survival. For just two weeks the IOC has given the displaced peoples of the world, something to be proud of, something to cheer for and something (if only for a few moments), to take their minds off the terrible position they find themselves in.
More power to the IOC and the international community for realising this and acting on it.  

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My advice: Throw away those pre-Olympic blues and celebrate what will be the most colourful and exciting sports event this year. Forget the Russian doping scandal, forget the silly sports that shouldn't be there (more on that next time), forget the sub-standard facilities, forget the zika mosquito and forget all the dramas leading up to Rio - JUST ENJOY THE SPECTACLE! We only get it every four years!   

Till next time, have a wonderful, peace-filled day and cheer for your team! 

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CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!

EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITIES LIFE PRESENTS TO YOU AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! 

HAVE A GREAT LIFE AND SPREAD THE LOVE! 

CHANGING THE WORLD – ONE READER AT A TIME