By Rachid Acim
By Rachid Acim
Beni Mellal – Lord Byron once said that in play there are two pleasures for your choosing – one is winning and the other is losing. He wasn’t wrong. Not all sports involve fun and entertainment as many people may think. London 2012 Olympics is best illustrative of this fact.
Many sportsmen, also women, from nearly the whole globe, came to London neither to entertain nor to amuse us. Instead, they came to compete for gold and more medals, to raise their countries’ flags and to chant glory and triumph for the coming generations in the realm of Olympics.
I’m afraid sports lose their real value when mixed up with interest and medals. It is not strange then when we see players hankering for fame even at the expense of their countries’ flags. Doping might help one manufacture superficial glory, but it will never be glory itself. Those who shamefully appeal to it are in the eyes of their colleagues so weak, dishonest and untrustful. They should stay at home and not tarnish our faces with shame.
But this should not urge us to make mere over-generalizations. If ever success is achieved, then we adamantly speak of our contribution to it. In cases of failure, we keep silent and we get mad and enraged at those who triggered it. In short, we aren’t responsible for that.
In the presence of efforts, we must applaud and raise our heads since athletic competitions like the Olympics will never-always-guarantee success to one. So, as much as we prepare for victory, we must get ourselves ready for defeat and failure.
Many contradictions are embedded in the Olympics as David Brooks argues. He, in this respect, cleverly notes that the Olympics are a peaceful celebration of our warlike nature. They start with love, peace, unity and harmony, but they end up with defeat, hate and melancholy.
Probably, this is why intense emotions wavering between joy and sorrow are at stake. Put simply, in enormous and excellent performances, we smile and praise the performer. Yet, in weak ones, we shed tears to express the situation we suddenly experienced.
The hope we cherished at the very beginning, before the performance, turns out to be of total disappointment and ugliness. Dissatisfaction can be even detrimental. Khalid, a Facebook user, is less content with the London Olympics. For him, London is not catchy in terms of sports.
“If I ever visit London, it will never be for the Olympics or to have tea with the Queen; it will be always for reading a hotly minted Guardian near 22 Baker Street.”
Yassin, another Facebooke user, cast his rage at his country’s sport federation for its weakness and incapacity to shine.
“While many countries, even the poor ones, are harvesting medals and listening to their national anthems, we are more than 30 million [watching]and none can make any achievement for this country. So shameful!”
These youngsters have different views of the Olympics. One sounds somewhat indifferent, but the other does not eclipse his strong love for it. For the latter, the Olympics is equated with pride and hauteur.
A third category seized the opportunity from the Olympics to promote self-creativity and prolificness. Indeed, a few hours are left for the
Olympics until it is over. However, the International Olympic Committee must rethink the game.
Men as well as women of art, who did showcase the Olympics in various artistic pieces, are to be honored. Gold is not only for the marathoner, the diver, the boxer, the football player or even for the wrestler. It should also go to the news reporter, the writer and the poet. They have also contributed to the game. Why not the spectator?
When everyone gets rewarded for the job s/he is doing, then the Olympics will be a true success. And as long as this seems to be to some extent absurd and unattainable, let’s honor in our way two great female poets, whose poems both espoused and immortalized London 2012 Olympics:
Carol Ann Duffy for a poem entitled “Translating the British, 2012” and Maria do Ceu Pires Costa for a poem called “London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics.”
Both poets brought to the fore the true spirit of the Olympics which is friendship, unison, excellence, courage and discipline.
A summer of rain, then a gap in the clouds
and The Queen jumped from the sky
to the cheering crowds.
We speak Shakespeare here,
a hundred tongues, one-voiced; the moon
bronze or silver.
sun gold, from Cardiff to Edinburgh
Carol Ann Duffy
Duffy was aware of the great self-esteem as well as self-love we can have from the Olympics. She conjugates the verb in the first person plural: We. As for her, a player who conjugates his/her verb in the first person singular should be excluded from the game.
We are Mo Farah lifting the 10,000 meters gold
We want new running-tracks in his name.
For Jessica Ennis, the same; for the Brownlee brothers,
Rutherford, Ohuruogu, Whitlock, Tweddle
for every medal earned, we want school playing fields returned.
Carol Ann Duffy
In the same forceful poetic tone, Maria Do Céu Pires Costa reminds us that the Olympics arena is more or less a global village engendering fame and stardom. More significantly, she embedds noise within glory.
The Olympic Village vibrating
Glorious noises breathtaking
Thousands of volunteers on the show
Efforts crowned by a human glow!
Maria Do Céu Pires Costa
Almost like any other world competition, the Olympics turns around victory. Only the fittest will survive and climb up the summit:
From Rowing, Cycling, Swimming
To Gymnastics, Fencing, Archery
They’re pushing hard, hopefully
For their attempt of winning…
Maria Do Céu Pires Costa
Mustn’t we then encourage the Olympics’ competitors and congratulate them on the great efforts they took to honor us? Or, to honor themselves? The British venues shall remain eye-witnesses attesting to the brightness and uniqueness of these marvelous people who excelled in various sports.
At famous, popular British venues
Crowds rejoice over a victory
Others wipe their tears painfully
Still others perform in their especial way
Superhumans they are
Unique souls they will stay!
Maria Do Céu Pires Costa
Whether they succeeded or not, the Olympics’ competitors are surely gifted and they must all be rewarded. Not with a bronze, silver or even with gold. But the sweet words like the verses above can make a great difference.
