Olympics offers students lesson in humility, unity
commentary by Ryan Rosback
Issue date: 2/25/10 Section: Opinion
I am writing this column under different circumstances than usual; instead of pounding away at the keyboard inside the office, or my apartment or even the Pacific University library, I am currently sitting near the base of the awe-inspiring Whistler-Blackcomb mountain near Vancouver, B.C. (That's in Canada for those of you "geogra-phobes" out there.) And unless you have been completely removed from society for the past two weeks, you would also know that it is the location for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Yes, while the Winter Olympics may certainly be the awkward little brother to the far more touted summer games, it still has much more to offer than many may think. And I'm not just talking about the entertainment value of its events, the appeal of its competitors (have you seen those Sport Illustrated swimsuit photos of U.S. snowboarder Hannah Teter?), or even the abysmal coverage provided by the United State's exclusive network, NBC. No. Instead, believe it or not, what I will take away from my experience here extends far beyond overpriced t-shirts, novelty shot glasses and those damn annoying cowbells that have for some ungodly reason become a timeless tradition across the globe.
What has surprised me the most about my visit to our northern neighbors, aside from their willingness to serve me alcohol without identification, has been the ease at which the mass conglomeration of people that is the world has interacted with each other. And when I say masses of people, I mean masses of people; you can't throw a curling stone without hitting someone from another country in this place. It is without a doubt the largest smorgasbord of culture I have ever witnessed in my life, and it got me thinking.
When my family first arrived at our hotel, the first group of Americans we encountered was also from Oregon. One of them had recognized my mother's OSU Beavers sweatshirt and said something to the extent of proclaiming his devout loyalty to the University of Oregon. My mother, never to give the last word to a Duck, fired back with something along the lines of "we're not all perfect." It was a friendly exchange, but still, hundreds of miles away from home, an inter-school rivalry took precedent above the mere recognition of somebody from our home country.
Yes, while the Winter Olympics may certainly be the awkward little brother to the far more touted summer games, it still has much more to offer than many may think. And I'm not just talking about the entertainment value of its events, the appeal of its competitors (have you seen those Sport Illustrated swimsuit photos of U.S. snowboarder Hannah Teter?), or even the abysmal coverage provided by the United State's exclusive network, NBC. No. Instead, believe it or not, what I will take away from my experience here extends far beyond overpriced t-shirts, novelty shot glasses and those damn annoying cowbells that have for some ungodly reason become a timeless tradition across the globe.
What has surprised me the most about my visit to our northern neighbors, aside from their willingness to serve me alcohol without identification, has been the ease at which the mass conglomeration of people that is the world has interacted with each other. And when I say masses of people, I mean masses of people; you can't throw a curling stone without hitting someone from another country in this place. It is without a doubt the largest smorgasbord of culture I have ever witnessed in my life, and it got me thinking.
When my family first arrived at our hotel, the first group of Americans we encountered was also from Oregon. One of them had recognized my mother's OSU Beavers sweatshirt and said something to the extent of proclaiming his devout loyalty to the University of Oregon. My mother, never to give the last word to a Duck, fired back with something along the lines of "we're not all perfect." It was a friendly exchange, but still, hundreds of miles away from home, an inter-school rivalry took precedent above the mere recognition of somebody from our home country.
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