I’ve always been a big fan of the Olympics. Doesn’t matter if it’s the Winter Games or the Summer Games, I find myself glued to the TV watching sports that I only follow every four years.
How else can you explain that I spent Sunday afternoon watching judo, fencing and rugby and enjoyed every minute of it?
But this year especially, I was happy to see the Olympics get started. I needed a break from politics. I think we all did.
We needed a reminder that we are not as divided as it seems during the heat of a political campaign. We needed to see that we can come together and feel a sense of patriotism. We needed to see that we can, in fact, agree on something.
It’s impossible not to feel proud of be an American when Michael Phelps take charge of a swimming relay, when Katie Ledecky obliterates her own world record and wins a gold by five seconds, when Simone Biles proves she’s the best gymnast in the world.
Sometimes, though, it’s the stories of the athletes you’ve never heard of that make the Olympics great. Young Ginny Thrasher won the first gold medal of the Rio Games in the 10-meter air rifle event. She was a figure skater as a child, switching to air rifle after a hunting trip with her family.
She wasn’t supposed to win a medal, much less a gold. But she pulled off a stunning upset, beating a two-time Olympic champion in the event. How can you not start chanting “USA! USA! USA!” when you hear stories like that?
But my favorite stories during the Olympics are often the ones that don’t directly involve the athletes or their competition. These are the stories that show the depth of the human spirit, something you might have thought we’d lost if you’ve been paying attention to this presidential campaign that wants to divide us.
Chase Kalisz, a member of the UGA swim team, achieved a lifelong dream of making the Olympic team in Rio. But the cost and logistics of a trip to a foreign country meant his mother wouldn’t be able to be there to see him compete.
But Kalisz’s cousin started a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay for her mother’s trip. They exceeded their goal of $10,000 in less than two weeks, thanks in part of dozens of people who didn’t know the Kalizses. Chase’s mom was in the stands to see him win a silver medal.
Another athlete’s parents couldn’t afford the trip to Rio, so the people in their working-class neighborhood passed the hat and raised enough money to pay for the trip.
My favorite story is of the Uber driver in Philadelphia. He struck up a conversation with one of his passengers on a recent trip. He told her that his son was competing in the shot put in Rio. But he also told her that he couldn’t afford to go see his son compete.
The passenger was shocked and she decided to help. A GoFundMe page for the Uber driver exceeded its goal in less than two days. One person donated money to pay for transportation to and from the airport in Rio. Another donated a gift card to help pay for meals.
It’s amazing what we can do in this country, especially when we put aside our differences and work for the betterment of our fellow man.
Here’s hoping our political candidates are watching, too.
