Day 230

Basically, I'm a pretty average guy, physically. I'm not oddly built, my proportions are normal, my height is just an inch or two above average, and so forth. I had a normal, healthy childhood, and a variety of experiences in education, travel, and skill sets to speak of. I am 23.

Therefore, it is a near impossibility that I could ever have been an olympic athlete, or be one in the future.

The truth: international level competition is, at this point, reserved almost exclusively for the abnormal, for people who are genetically well-built for their discipline, and who don't have much of a life: "All I do is eat, sleep, and swim," in the words of Michael Phelps.

Not to denigrate the effort. Surely to be an olympian, an exceptional level of dedication is a necessary condition. It's just not the only necessary condition. Other ones, physical properties for example, are in some sense arbitrary, and blind to the effort of the competitors. The idea that determination is the key factor is misguided.

So I ask you, with all openness and honesty, what is it that we are cheering for?

Anyway, I will extend my congratulations to Phelps. His ability to absorb lactic acid, and inordinately short legs and long arms and big feet, are truly an inspiration to all of us.

Comments

Anonymous said…
"His ability to absorb lactic acid, and inordinately short legs and long arms and big feet, are truly an inspiration to all of us."

LMAO!!!!
8:42 PM
Anonymous said…
you have obviously never known an Olympian
11:01 PM
Max said…
Not so, in fact. I spent a good while in high school under the coaching of a former olympic decathlete, who I got to know relatively well.

Does this somehow give me the 'credential' you require of me to present my ideas? Not that it matters, my entry wasn't so much about the athletes but rather about the way in which we perceive them - namely - as people whose victories and losses hinge purely on how hard they try deep down; it is a romantic, but false, notion.
12:12 AM
Anonymous said…
Same goes for many other career paths. One must almost always have more than just a passion or desire to do well. They have to look and act the part.

Some people are blessed with strength (or odd proportions), while other are blessed with greater mental ability. Nothing is ever fair in life. But, I am as happy as a clam with what I've been given :)
10:53 AM
Anonymous said…
That post was pretty much just a thinly veiled attempt to justify your lack of athletic ability and discipline.
10:05 PM
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