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CITIUS ALTIUS FORTIUS

Author: Mary Alice Everhart | Published: 10/09/2009 | 148 Views | Short URL: http://www.inthepanhandle.com/local/n/5505

That is how I felt when I attended the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.  My mother and I had driven all the way from my small home town in the western reaches of Kentucky.  The trip was the culmination of two years planning on my part.  Not that it was complicated; it was simply a big deal, a really big deal for me.  Why I even knew anything about the Olympics is hidden in my memory such that I cannot recall.  What I do remember is the excitement of every event, every athlete, everyone.  I believe it was the spirit, the alluring nature of true sportsmanship that called me to the Olympics as a child.

I went with my mother and for financial reasons we pitched a tent in KOA campgrounds on our cross country trek, including our days in the big city of LA.  Today, for many reasons, financial among them, I realize my attendance at another Olympic event is highly unlikely.

This morning I heard that golf and rugby will be an Olympic sport in 2016. I also heard Tiger Woods hopes to be there. 

Last week, President Obama spent part of his day on a promotional junket for his home town of Chicago as a host city.

These two facts clearly demonstrate how out of reach it has all become. 

The Olympic Motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius,  a Latin expression meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.

Truth is the Olympics are not supposed to be about politics or star power, not according to the history.  In the very early days, they were in fact about religion.  Acknowledging we have evolved beyond the ritual sacrifices associated with these early games, I fail to understand this latest evolution toward commercialization.

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), The Olympic Motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius,  a Latin expression meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.

They suggest these three words are best understood when considered alongside the Olympic Creed.

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

History tells us the three Latin words became the Olympic motto in 1894, the date of the IOC’s creation. Pierre de Coubertin proposed the motto, having borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who taught sport close to Paris.  The inspiration for the creed would come later, following a sermon given by the Bishop of Pennsylvania, Ethelbert Talbot, during the Games of London in 1908.

The ironic part as pointed out by Stefan Szymanski in his Washington Post Sunday October 4th article “5 Myths about Landing the Olympics” host cities do not make any money on the Games.  And the facilities and infrastructure often become empty or expensive to maintain.

Therefore I wonder why we continue to make them increasingly inaccessible to the average person, both participant and spectator.  This recently touted Olympic golf match, if Tiger Woods is the player representing the United States, will be attended by the rich and famous, the CEO’s and their representatives, the powerful media, the celebrities.  No amateur golfer will compete. You will have to know somebody or be somebody.  The Olympic Games was once an opportunity to become somebody.

And while I like Tiger Woods in general, I enjoy watching his skillful play, and applaud him even when he beats my favorite Kentucky native Kenny Perry because I know Tiger has worked hard at the sport, continues to work hard in fact. I even believe he does a lot for the game and for many less fortunate. Yet, I so do not agree with his latest aspiration.  Tiger Woods already has a venue.  And this is true for all professional athletes.  Honestly, I do not care if the United States loses. It is not about the win and it should not be about money.

I repeat – the Olympic Creed:

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

In 1984, at the Los Angeles Olympics, we cheered for everyone!

Now that the Olympics have gone pro they have lost the allure they once had.

For me anyway.