Drama
I have been totally obsessed with the Olympics this week. I spend my evenings in front of a big screen somewhere watching the competition, and I find myself lingering in front of any TV that’s tuned to the Olympics during the day as well. The drama and the “rest of the story” coming out of these games is so compelling, and I can’t remember any previous Olympics – except maybe during the cold war and 1980 with hockey – where I was so captivated by the individual and the team competitions.
Michael Phelps is a story above all stories, but overall, he’s just part of the story. The two American gymnasts that won gold and silver in the individual competition and were coached by a former Soviet gold medalist and Chinese gymnastics team member, respectively, is just amazing to me. The men’s gymnastics team who lost their top two leaders and yet still performed so dramatically was so awesome to watch. The men’s volleyball team who suffered through the tragedy of their coach losing his father-in-law in a first day murder in China was touching, moving, and so inpsiring all at the same time. A 41 year old swimmer as the number 1 seed in the 50 meter freestyle competition is a story beyond belief, with the number 2 seed 25 years her junior. And to watch last night as that 41 year old swimmer held up the competition so a swimmer in lane 8 could quickly change suits because of a tear was as good a demonstration of sportsmanship as I’ve seen in Olympics competition.
The drama of these games and the stories of the dedication and focus to get to these games has captured the imagination and viewership of the American public. When Michael Phelps is swimming, anyone walking by the TV stops and stares, and then cheers. Last night was even more amazing as he won by a fingernail, overcame a protest, and climbed up on that gold medal podium again.
In the last few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about drama because of one quote from a young man who was suffering from a constant string of losses in his personal life – his older brother, then his uncle, and at the time of his suffering, what he thought was the loss of his little brother as well. He kept saying over and over again, “too much drama, too much drama, too much drama”, as he was trying to cope with so much tragedy in his own life and so little reason for hope.
Drama can be so extremely good and yet so extremely bad. As I watch the Olympics, I see the “so extremely good” side of drama. The winning for sure, but the competition overall and the dramatic work to overcome odds to get there even more so. As I remember that young man, I see the “so extremely bad” side of drama. I was reminded of the young man a month or so ago when a hero of the early war in Iraq decided to take his own life back here in the States. I still remember the picture of the soldier with the black glasses walking away from the fighting and the danger with a young Iraqi child in his arms. That picture became etched in the memories of many Americans, and yet that burden of the war tore this man apart and eventually led to him taking his own life. Too much drama, certainly too much drama.
Life can be such an enormous roller coaster of emotion as we indeed live out drama in our own lives and in the lives of others. I’m so thankful for the awesomely good drama of the Olympics because for just a moment any and all of us can be raised to a level of appreciation and joy that pulls us up and away from other not so awesomely good drama that may be occurring in our lives. Â
I’m hoping others who have recently said “too much drama, too much drama” will also spend a few minutes at the perfect time and at the appropriate place watching the Olympics and for just that moment feel uplifted and revived. And maybe just maybe in that moment of revival the “too much drama” will be in a good sense rather than a bad, and in that good, hope will return and that roller coaster of life will climb that hill towards joy and leave that valley of tragedy behind.
Too much drama. Certainly, too much drama.Â