I Was Thinking...  Going for the Gold

For the last several weeks, many of us have watched with fascination the athletes of the Winter Olympics. We have seen examples of amazing successes as well as incidents of crushing disappointments. The televised coverage, of course, follows the successes more than the failures. The medal winners are featured getting their hardware and standing for their national anthems. The media spends a lot of time talking about the medal count. But that is only a small part of the story.
The Winter Olympics feature 100-plus events with roughly 2,500 to 3,000 athletes competing. Of that number, just over 300 gold, silver, and bronze medals will be presented. That means almost 90% of those competing will not take a medal home. Therefore, most of them are technically losers. Or are they?
To even qualify for the Olympics, they had to be the best of the best from their country. They had to compete for years to get to the level where they were even allowed to try out for the Olympic team. To accomplish that, athletes had to commit to years of preparation. There were unimaginable hours of training sessions as well as time away from their family, friends, and regular activities. In addition, traditional career paths were often interrupted. Along the way, there were probably setbacks like injuries and failures, yet they persisted. And then there were the thousands who worked very hard and had an Olympic dream but never even made the team.
I admire the dedication all the athletes exhibited, but especially those that didn’t medal. They won’t receive the accolades the top three get. They won’t be offered endorsements or have their picture on a cereal box, but they still accomplished more than most of us ever dreamed of.
Our society celebrates winners and often ignores everyone else. Even in our high schools, only a small percentage of the students are varsity players, yet they garner much of the recognition. A team who won a championship may get to ride on top of the fire truck in a local parade. But most people couldn’t tell who the valedictorian for the class was or which kids were on the National Honor Society. Yet there will be amazing success stories from all kinds of students that go on to successful careers and make valuable contributions to society that never were a starter on a sports team, had the lead in a play or was a soloist for the band. As much as I like sports, I’m also aware that our society has elevated athletes at the expense of other parts of our communities.
Many cities have built million dollar, if not billion dollar, arenas and stadiums for sports while at the same time have a hard time finding enough money to adequately staff hospitals and nursing homes. Coaches at major universities earn more than professors and even the university president. Most communities don’t lack for more ball diamonds, basketball courts, or a nearby golf course. Yet almost all communities have a desperate need for more daycare facilities for children.
Justin Jefferson, Prince, and Bob Dylan are all well known in Minnesota and were well paid for their performances. They provided enjoyable entertainment. Yet nursing homes have a difficult time providing enough financial incentives to attract highly qualified people to care for our vulnerable elderly. The job isn’t glamorous and you won’t get public acclaim for doing it. We entrust our children to teachers on a daily basis. We expect them to advance their academic, social, and emotional development yet school districts struggle to get the necessary funding from the state to even keep up with inflation.
A crossing guard, bus driver, or lunchroom lady will never be included in a book of Who’s Who. The CEO of Mayo Clinic, Wells Fargo, or General Mills will grace the cover of a financial or professional journal because they were awarded the gold medal in their field. Yet I wonder which one cares more about the kids in our community. Getting the “gold” in many ways doesn’t make you any better than those who sought gold in very different ways.

Did You Ever Wonder? — If Cinderella’s shoes fit so tight, why did one fall off?