Last night, at least for one night, I became a real big fan of figure skating. Broadcast was the Ladies' short program and the competition encapsulated what makes sports great. Admittedly, it doesn't hurt that many of the competitors are pleasant to watch, but that's besides the point.
On one hand, there was Kim Yu-na of South Korea.
What's great about athletic competition is that it brings the best out of people. It encourages hard work, perseverance, and training. She's someone facing incredible pressure outside the sport, carrying the hope of a nation on her shoulders. Expectations are sky-high and anything other than a gold would be deemed a failure. Pretty heavy for a 19 year-old! But she brought it and skated beautifully with a performance that was interesting, technically sound, sophisticated, and subtly flirtatious. Sports is a test of will and mental toughness. The ability to perform your best when your best is needed is such an admirable trait.On the other side, what I also love about sports is that the experiences that athletes go through are just so human and relateable. They representideals and hopes and dreams, yet when they are brought down to earth, they can also represent pain, grief, and sadness. When we see athletes battle through injury, sickness, or personal issues, we admire them for their performance, but more importantly we admire the mere fact that they do not allow such circumstances to change them. It gives us hope and inspiration that we can also battle through such circumstances and not let such pain overcome us.
Such was the case of Joannie Rochette of Canada.
Her mother flew into Vancouver to watch her perform on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, Joannie received a phone call that her mother, only 54, died from a heart attack.Just two days later, she goes out and gives the performance of her life. At the end of the performance, the grief she felt finally took hold and she burst into tears. I have to admit, I had some tears starting to well up in my eye.There's something about sports that is very symbolic and which is why all civilizations and all countries engage in competition. Sports serve as a microcosm and is representative of the human condition and the wide range of experiences that it brings. Whether its being at the pinnacle and the joys of victory, or bottoming out and feeling the agony of defeat, such emotions are universal. And the themes of the sport experience carry over into life as well. That's the beauty of sport and why I love it, even if it is ladies' figure skating.
