With the 2016 Summer Olympics right around the corner, it's time to think about the nature of competition and the effect it has on the countries around the globe.
When the Olympics open every year, there's a ceremony with torches and a lot of communion and joy. The same happens at the conclusion of the games. Although this may seem great for our world as we all come together to celebrate, what happens in between is far better.
In the span of about two and a half weeks every four years, countries around the world join to compete and strive for greatness. We Americans are filled with sports within the country day in and day out. We are used to the passion and heart that goes into college and pro athletics but the Olympics bring it to another level.
You have athletes from countries on the complete other side of the globe who make the trip to compete against fellow athletes. You see the grind and pain these men and women go through to win, not only for themselves but for their country as well.
There's something about world competition that seems to bring the excitement and pressure to a higher level and it's unfortunate that it only lasts a couple weeks. But in those couple of weeks, we get to see a boat load of different competitions and medals handed out.
In a world that is in the midst of a lot of hate and racial profiling, the Olympics is a time that seems to bring us all together despite this. It's almost as if everything is forgotten about and is put in the back of our minds. Although it may not be a great thing to just put something that serious aside, at least there's a string of days put together where the color of our skin or ethnicity doesn't matter.
Yes, we root against opposing countries and seem like we want other countries to fail, but at the same time, we get to see the greatness that comes out of other places than where we come from. I think a lot of the issue with racism and hatred among our world has a lot to do that we don't see that a lot of neighboring citizens are just like we are.
They like sports like us, they work as hard as us, and they enjoy the company of people different than them and they use it as a time to celebrate.
Some people may think that the competition against other countries drives us even further apart because games can get heated, but I think that's what brings us a little closer. Yes, you sometimes dislike an opponent or resent them, but in reality, they are just like you and chances are if they grew up with you in your country, you would get along great. That's what I think about now with kids I used to play in high school. There're several kids who I played in sports and wasn't fond of in competition, but now that I've grown up, I see them in a different way.
I have made more friends from sports than in any other way in my lifetime and I'm sure many of you can say the same. So when we bring fellow countries together to compete, I feel like location goes out the window and it becomes a time of togetherness with people who turn out to be just alike.
So if you find yourself bored in a couple of weeks, turn on NBC and find the Olympic games and try to see what I'm talking about. Put yourself in the shoes of these athletes and find a middle ground for the people that aren't from here.
Open your eyes and open up your mind. We are all alike in some way. Thanks to the Olympics and the nature of competition, it allows us to see it.
