My kids like sports and do a lot of them. Mostly I like that sports tire them out so they go to bed early and don’t bug me during the night. Last weekend they did a kiddie triathlon (see pic!) and they just wrapped up two weeks of a fantastic sports camp run by a local University.
With all this sports stuff around me, I got to wondering why I don’t really get into the Olympics. The best way to describe my “Olympic Fever” would be to say it is VERY low grade. I feel a bit like the Scrooge of the Beijing games.
I went into these summer games not knowing the name of a single athlete. Not one. Not even that American swimming kid with big feet who was set to win a truckload of medals. I suppose any interest was completely wiped out when I heard how much the opening ceremonies cost. Something about that price tag while starving baby girls hang out in orphanages down the street didn’t sit so well. Oh, and then there was that issue about banning the ‘ugly’ 9-year-old from taking to the stage to sing. Clearly her face was so hideous it would cause international offence, which is odd since I have yet to meet a 9-year-old who is not adorable.
I understand the Olympic psyche and appreciate that the games provide communities with a tremendous amount of pride, hope, spirit and entertainment. I don’t think anyone should carry any guilt for indulging in the Olympic hype. But, I am left shaking my head now and again wondering why it matters who gets to the other end of the pool first. My feeling is that all the great stuff sport has to offer can be found at the amateur level. This is where kids are empowered with confidence, skills and life-time friendships. Many adults will credit sport with keeping them off the streets and on the right track. All this for the fraction of the cost of an Olympic event.
When people lament about the lack of funding Olympic athletes receive, I’m left a bit stunned. This comes from my position of having a child with autism and being a part of entire community of desperate parents who can’t afford treatment for their children. Believe me, an athlete untrained is a far prettier image than a child with autism who has had no therapy. I just read that one country estimates that every medal costs them 16 million bucks. Gulp. I’m breaking out in a sweat just thinking of how much early intervention that could buy. It begs the question: do we really want to spend our money making people run fast?
I love watching my kids play sport. I’m the excited/obnoxious parent cheering loudly and shouting out bad advice from the sidelines. But watching my non-verbal three-year-old learn to communicate was more fulfilling than seeing any one of my kids score a goal or win a race. I can assure you, it is more rewarding to see your child with autism transform into a fully integrated and on-curriculum student.
So, we can spend our dough on making a few parents proud of their medal winning children, or make thousands of parents proud because their children with autism will one day live independently.
The closing ceremonies are about to start and I’m quite sure I’ll break out into hives sometime tomorrow when I hear how much it cost to shut down the event. I suppose it would be fitting for the Scrooge of the Beijing games to sign off with a bah hum bug.
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You are so right. There is a lot of wisdom in what you say. If only our politicians would agree.
Hey – I remembered this video I saw of Noam Chomsky who called professional sports the new opiate of the masses. It keeps people passive because they focus on something that really is of no relevance, so they don’t bother the government about “real” issues… kind of cynical, but I love to quote this to my husband during March Madness! (And I’m kind of inclined to agree!)
I think it’s all relative. If something is important to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s important to someone else and vice versa. I’m sure there are people out there who would like to see that money put into cancer treatments and they’re thinking “well at least her child is not dying so why should the money go towards autism”. Or to be the devil’s advocate, what about the woman all the way across the world who’s holding her dying child in her arms because there is no food and water who would think “the money that someone spent on those labels would feed my child for a month”
Sure! Heck, we could never spend a dime for all the guilt we could be carrying. Everytime you went out for dinner, bought a new pair of shoes or ordered some Mabel’s Labels you could consider where that money could be going. Nice thing is that our customers spend money on their labels so that they don’t have to spend a load of cash on replacing lost items. They can put that money to better use.
Certainly there is no competition as to which childhood illnesses and disabilities are more deserving of funding. The list of worthy causes is endless. Fortunately,cancer treatment is funded in our province, as it should be.
Absolutely spot on about it being relative….I guess the thing with the Olympics is just the overwhelming amount of money involved.
This was a very thought-provoking blog this week Julie. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Olympics this summer, although I was also rather disgusted by the cover-ups of the singer and gymnast. What on earth are people teaching their children when they lie to this extent?
Seeing the picture of your kids after the triathlon reminds me that it’s far more exciting to cheer on our own children in local sport than what’s-his-name with all the medals!
Excellent post Julie. Right on target. There is no competition on what childhood diseases or disorders should be covered. They all are EXCEPT for autism. It’s mind boggling how many children with autism,could and should be helped in this country, but are ignored. Travesty.
great post julie