The Winter Olympics seem to trigger very complex emotions, more so than other major sporting events. I wonder if it’s the long winter, the cold rain, or holiday echoes that predispose me to glistening eyes and pangs of melancholic joy.

I was not a Winter Olympics fan. Four years ago my sweetheart forced me to watch the opening ceremony of the Turin games. I complained until the Chinese figure skaters Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao took the ice. Her decision to continue after the hard to watch fall set of the water works. I watched the rest of the games with glee! Now “Remember the Winter Olympics!!!” is her rallying and final/closing argument whenever she’s talking me into something I don’t want to do.

The real life tragedies that shrouded this year’s Olympic Games seemed to highlight two opposing philosophies about the purpose of the Olympics. One is the sense of universal appreciation for the disciplines we can accomplish despite setbacks. I was in a state of awe through so many events. The second is the blatant nationalism that sets aside political correctness. The national anthems, flags, the parading delegations, all of these reinforce, by way of celebrating, the cultural and geographic differences of our species.

In essence, the borders that separate us also create the opportunity for the powerful discovery that we are all the same. It’s like we never stopped playing Peekaboo. The “they-versus-us” mentality seems to be inherent and in-fact necessary in sport competitions. The stronger the border, the greater the opportunity to unite and cherish the reunion as the Miracle Team proved in 1980. The analogies of warriors, fighting through, putting up a tough fight and so on create a clear reference to war.

I try x-country skying

I’m curious to know if it will be possible to appreciate competition without ‘they-versus-us’ paradigm.  The point of competition is to experience the practice of a discipline. Take for example theater and particularly a Shakespearean play like Othello. In sports like in theater there are two satisfying outcomes; tragedy (losing) comedy (winning). In many ways the development of a play follows the same as a game. We know the outcome but the how and who are elements at play that develop and shape the experience of viewing it. Othello being played by me will not be as good as someone else. To play is to engage the art of story-telling.

From the experience of watching this year’s events, nationalism didn’t have a place in my heart. The death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and Joannie Rochette’s tragic loss of her mom eradicated all sense of competition and produced profound compassion. The real joy wasn’t winning or losing. It was watching gifted individuals shared their talents, perfect their discipline to expand not only their sport but the fabric of our collective experience.

Proposal: Instead of having athletes parade separated by countries. They should parade by discipline. The skaters with the skaters and the snowboarders with the snowboarders and this way there will be a greater emphasis on the celebration of the games, which is what the Olympics are all about after all. No?