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| Courtesy of Inside The Games |
There were several different guest speakers that took time to discuss different ways that they were affected and worked with the Olympics and also what that had to do with laws and the legal issues of our current time period. Some were people that worked directly for the United States Olympic Committee, while others worked as an outside consultant, and some even worked for the sponsors of the event, like Visa and Coca Cola.
During the lunch break right before I left, they even had one current Olympian speak about her time competing, how she handles the pressure, and what the whole experience was like. She even brought her silver medal to show to everyone. She is actually from around where I grew up in Michigan and it was very fun and interesting to hear about her experiences leading up to and during the Olympics. She spoke about all the practices that she had done and how it felt different to be performing at the Olympics as opposed to any other event she had competed at. She also talked about how being there once had given her the drive and desire to be there again and go for the gold medal.
I'm not as familiar with the Olympics as I am with other sporting events, but a lot of that is because there are so many different sports that are included in the Olympics and not all of them are commonly played, or seen, in the US. However, I think that the Olympics can be a great way to see how games and sports impact other cultures and can be a useful learning tool for not only the athletes that compete in the games, but also for the fans who watch the games as well.
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| Courtesy of Sports Biz Asia |
I think your post touches on a crucial main idea that really resinates with me, the distance of the olympic games. For the every day citizen, the experience of the olympic games is so hard to understand. First of all, its very far away. Even when it is hosted in the US, depending on where you live it can be all the way across the country. Second of all, the level of expertise needed to make it to the games is extremely difficult and not that of the common man. Contact with an olympian is hard to come by. Third, it is easy to forget about the olympics when they aren't happening. The games are not extremely consistent and therefore, it is easy to forget about them on the off years. What sounds very cool about your experience described in this post is that the olympics were brought close to home. You were able to experience the games, at least part of the games, first hand at your own campus in the US. This sounds like a very cool experience!
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ReplyDeleteLucy ColganMar 27, 2012 08:34 AM
I think your post touches on a crucial main idea that really resinates with me, the distance of the olympic games. For the every day citizen, the experience of the olympic games is so hard to understand. First of all, its very far away. Even when it is hosted in the US, depending on where you live it can be all the way across the country. Second of all, the level of expertise needed to make it to the games is extremely difficult and not that of the common man. Contact with an olympian is hard to come by. Third, it is easy to forget about the olympics when they aren't happening. The games are not extremely consistent and therefore, it is easy to forget about them on the off years. What sounds very cool about your experience described in this post is that the olympics were brought close to home. You were able to experience the games, at least part of the games, first hand at your own campus in the US. This sounds like a very cool experience!
I think its cool that you went to this even because at times we can forgot what really goes into the Olympic games. We see the perfect opening ceremonies, and the all or nothing events that take place each day. With a symposium like that I feel you can get a better understanding of what the games are all about and the time and effort that is needed to prepare them. When I was in junior high we had a olympics track runner come in and talk to us and it kind of but things in perspective and I got a better understanding of the games. So I think it's awesome you got to go to that event.
ReplyDeleteI was able to go to this event as well and thought it was also a very positive experience. I thought the coolest thing about the symposium was the way that it brought a good amount of people together who all brought some new way to look at an olympic issue. I think that hearing two people debate about an issue who take very different and informative stances on the issue, is an incredible way to learn about the issue itself and leaves the door open for the listener to have to decide who is right or what pieces from each side are right. I think that this would be a sweet format for a class at michigan to have debates like that of which were presented at the symposium on current issues or issues that impact students regularly.
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