For weeks, I will walk around humming the NBC Olympic theme in my head. You know, the one by John Williams with the timpani and the brass.
I love how for two weeks every two years the world seems a little smaller, a little more unified. Like for once our similarities are bigger than our differences. I love to hear the stories of the athletes. The struggles, the obstacles they have overcome to get there. They are all winners already, yet they have such a strong desire to win just one more time. For themselves, for their team, for their country.
I had never really given it much thought, but this year has brought to light just how dangerous the winter games are compared to the summer games. The ice, the blades, the speed, the gravity. Tragedy befell this year's games before they even began. The Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed in an accident during practice. Such an incredibly sad beginning to the Olympics.
Of course, then organizers went about attempting to make the event safer for the competitors. And, of course, it is so easy to think "why didn't they have the steel beams covered in the first place?". But no one could have foreseen this tragedy.
In addition to the modifications to the track, they also moved the starting line for the men down to where the women were set to start. The idea being that this would give them less momentum, less of a chance to get up to speeds of 95 mph, less of a chance to have a horrendous crash.
Then (and this is what I'm trying to understand), they moved the women's starting line down even further. If the women had already practiced at the newly designated "Men's Starting Line", why the need to move them down? Why is there a need to have some distinction between the two? Is it that important for men to reach faster speeds, to take more risks, to be more impressive?
I don't know if this really bothers me. I'm not sure what I think. What do you think?
2 comments:
Nodar Kumaritashvili’s death is a tragedy! Luge looks like such a neat sport, but also very dangerous at the same time. His death will cast a pall over these Olympic Games. The safety of the sport definitely needs to be addressed appropriately and immediately.
Some people think that women should be protected. When we open our eyes we all face the possibility of tragedy, driving down the street, stepping into the shower, heating something in the microwave.... Unless you want to live in a bubble, wait the bubble can have a defect... Good thoughts!
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