The summer Olympic Games are here, which means we get to see how bad ass every nation’s sportsmen and sportswomen are. I’ve always loved the Olympics, and I watch with my family every time it is aired. The earliest Olympics I remember watching was the Olympics held in China in 2008. What stood out the most to me was the opening ceremony; it was absolutely spectacular due to the amazing floor painting, beautiful costumes and traditional song and music. The Olympic opening ceremonies to follow China were just as wonderful because, as a spectator, I was able to be transported through my television and live through all of host country’s culture, history and people.
Check out some highlights from the China Olympics:
Personally, I think the Olympic opening ceremonies, commercials, and videos dedicated to the Olympics have only gotten better as the years have gone on. This year, the Olympics are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and we got to experience their rich culture, diverse population, food, passion and music squeezed into a few hours on our televisions during their ceremony. Despite the recent breakout of Zika Virus, the ongoing governmental corruption and violence, we put all of this negativity aside and focused on the Brazilian nation and the Olympic games.
Another highlight of the Olympics is seeing all the represented countries walk proudly with their flags raised through the arena. This year, the Olympics represents 205 diverse, colorful nations with over 11,000 athletes participating. We saw countries with broken histories like Afghanistan, Bhutan and Yemen walk proudly, waving their flags with under five athletes walking behind them. Powerhouse nations like America, New Zealand and Spain had hundreds of athletes walking. In the Olympic games, the whole world comes together and celebrates our athletes, no matter how many people are represented per nation.
The Olympics also bring out our brash, unashamed patriotic sides in each country of the world. Because we put our differences aside during these games, every country can focus on their people, the number of medals won and of course, their pride. It’s been especially surprising for America during this heated and passionate presidential battle between Hillary and Trump that our American people are showing nothing but pride and joy for our Olympics. Granted, the Olympics is probably the biggest world event where millions upon millions watch, so of course Americans will put a pin in the electoral race and focus on the games. However, this phenomenon is more significant than we think.
Lastly, the Olympics is a time to appreciate the history of our past athletes as well as celebrate our up and coming powerhouse athletes. Anyone with a television, phone or laptop has heard of Simone Biles. She is the queen of gymnastics, and she blows us all away with her flawless tumbling skills, jumps and clean execution in everything she does. Another incredible athlete is Michael Phelps, who is the most decorated Olympian of all time. This man has participated in five Olympics, and he has won over 20 gold medals! These two Olympians will go down in history forever with past Olympians like Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali and Florence Joyner.
The Olympics are a symbol for world peace and world unity. Sure, all nations of the world have plenty of issues, but I believe that during this televised couple of weeks with billions of eyes watching, the world forgets about its problems and focuses on the athletes, their hard work and execution. At the end of the day, the Olympic games is a huge competition, but it still brings us all together. That is the true meaning of the Olympics.
