Tuesday, January 23, 2024

The Lifting

The lure of athletics is founded in man's desire to defy gravity. (We must hate gravity so.) Great athletes excite our imaginations; they leave us in awe. That is why we gravitate to sports and its stars in the first place - to witness the human body as it transcends laws that leave the rest of us earthbound. we crave the mammoth home run, the high-flying dunk, and the devastating punch from one 200-pound man that lifts another 200-pound man into the air, and sends him into oblivion. wonders only rare men can achieve. 

Women bring different aesthetic to sports, especially when they compete in events like tennis, gymnastics, and figure skating. There, they provoke a unique rapture of their own design, and our earthbound spirits are lifted. 

But, don't get it twisted. These ladies can defy gravity, too. Ever see a female olympian throw a hammer, hurl a discuss, or stride hurdles like a two-legged gazelle? and, don't get me started on those female weight-lifters, especially the little ladies, (such heart) - heaving great weights above Earth's immense head, even as gravity, itself, demand they drop that load... now! "Not yet," they seem to say, as they push their burdens to the roof. Talk about "chill bumps." 

Recently, the International Olympic Committee has announced that starting in Paris , in 2024, they will introduce female "flag football" as an Olympic event. It is a patronizing gesture. Women do not need it. They are doing fine without that kind of help. (Thank you very much.)

First, flag football is a children's game, one that is safe and inconclusive. It is not a sport like the majority of Olympic disciplines that athletes spend a lifetime perfecting. To be called an Olympian should be a hallowed honor, one that comes only after years of pain, sacrifice, and sheer determination. Even as children, we played flag football only when we were not allowed to play real football. Now, for playing a glorified game of "flag", you want to call these ladies, "Olympians". The Greeks of Marathon will be turning over in their graves.