The score is 0 – 0. It’s almost 8:40am and has been this way for about 35 minutes now but the TV room is electric. Every seat is taken and all eyes are glued to the center TV where the Gold medal game for Woman’s soccer is unfolding. Every single time the ball approaches either goal… there are audible gasps and yells echoing from both sides of the room. And then… GOOOOAAALLL… the United States team finally scores and it feels as though the windows are going to blow out of the room (and not just the room that I am in… I can hear the screams from both other TV rooms as well). I am sitting in my chair against the back wall so I have an incredible vantage point of the whole spectacle and I can’t help but marvel at the scene. 25 guys… all wearing their headphones but… as stated… yelling at the TV (or each other) depending on what is happening up there on the turf… completely invested in the event taking place across the world in Paris.
And for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning… we forgot that there is a locked gate just outside the windows. This has been the magic of the Olympics behind these walls.
I have loved every aspect of the Olympic games this year. I always love the summer Olympics… having the opportunity to witness the pure athleticism…incredible physical and mental strength of these unbelievable athletes. But watching them behind these walls has added a whole new layer of appreciation and unexpected joy over the past couple weeks. What I hadn’t realized… or thought about prior to the games… is that I currently live in an environment that is occupied by people from all over the globe. There is obviously a common thread in that we all found ourselves on the wrong side of the law in the United States but our heritage… our background… stems from all corners of this earth. As we all have gathered over the past couple weeks to watch the events… I have noticed cheers coming from one corner of the room when Brazil wins beach volleyball… another cheer from a different corner when Great Britain does well on the track… or when China starts pulling away in diving… or the Netherlands… or Australia… or Mexico. There is someone here that seemingly has a connection to almost every country out there and is proud to represent that heritage when “their guy or girl” shows up and shows out in Paris. It has been extremely cool to witness.
I started thinking about how prison is probably one of the most racially segregated places in modern history. There is an unwritten rule behind these walls that you live with someone who’s skin tone matches your own… your eat with them… you work out with them… they are “your people”. But what is fascinating is that although there is massive segregation in here… this segregation is void of hierarchy. No race is better than another… no race gets preferential treatment… we are separate but together and equal. And the Olympics has drawn out the “together-ness” part of this in a profound way.
There are not many aspects of my current environment that I would say the real world would greatly benefit from adopting but this notion of “different but together” is one that I think would only uplift us out there. We can be different in almost every conceivable way possible but that does not mean we need to tear down the other side in order to lift ourselves up. By accepting and appreciating our differences… we open the door for opportunities of learning from one another and in turn personal and collective growth. We open the possibility of collaborating toward a common goal without the need for one side to be right and the other to be wrong. We can co-exist in our differences and if we somehow find a way to lead with acceptance… man… who knows how much we could accomplish side by side.
So… thank you 2024 Olympics for providing escapism… unity and joy behind these walls. Maybe… just maybe… I will be able to listen to the 2028 Olympics in LA without wearing headphones. Hope… right?
Stay Healthy. Stay Active. USA for the Gold!!