This year’s Summer Olympics have been the most watched Olympic Games in viewer history. I for one have watched these Games, much more than other Olympic Games, in any years past. Furthermore, I have been the most emotional that I’ve ever been – while watching the American flag as it is raised above the podium where our athletes proudly stand, my eyes well up, my lips quiver and I would begin to blubber.
But why? Why would this year’s Olympics have a dramatic effect on me and such a profound impact that glues the world to their televisions become the most watched Games in history? I believe the answer to this question, is hope. With commitment and hard work, dreams can come true. And in a time where the current state of the world is quite frankly abysmal, watching the fulfillment of these dreams gives us all hope.
The athletes whom we’ve come to adore are the very embodiment of this hope. Their personal stories of challenge, struggle, strength, perseverance and ultimately victory is the quintessential American Dream. As we watch we are not only in awe of their talent and their skills, but of what they had to overcome, in order to get there. They are truly our heroes.
The Olympiad is one of the last great things that the world still does. It bonds people from across the entire globe in a very human way, and fosters camaraderie. And although everyone holds to their own national pride near and dear, we root for the spirit of the games, we root for the world. Go World!