Megan A Cyrulewski, click
here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.
Blogs by Megan A Cyrulewski
ARE YOU GOING TO WATCH THE OLYMPICS? 2/5/2014 11:36:43 AM
I love the Olympics. I have always loved the Olympics. In college, I declared the television mine when the Olympics were on (and had to face the wrath of my roommates.) If I happened to be dating someone while the Olympics where on, I refused to leave the house to go on a date. If he wanted to see me during the Olympics he would have to watch them with me. My ex-husband tried to keep up with me, but eventually petered out the second week and went to bed early. I can't even explain how excited I am for tomorrow night.
That being said, I also understand that there is a lot of controversy surrounding the Olympics this year. When the IOC awarded Sochi the 2014 Olympics, I actually thought it was a good idea. Russia has never hosted the Olympics and I felt that they deserved the chance to host. Just like in 2016 when Rio hosts the Olympics - those will be the first Olympics in South America. I love when the Olympics are in different countries because we about that country during Opening Ceremonies.
For weeks I have read about the homophobic attitude of the Russian government. Personally, I will never understand why some people are against same-sex marriages. Love is love. Why is it such a big deal if a man marries another man or a woman marries another woman? I know of some same-sex marriages that have lasted longer than "regular" marriages (mine included.) I don't like that I live in a state (Michigan) that not only doesn't allow same-sex marriages, but also doesn't even recognize same-sex marriages. It's stupid and I hope it changes soon.
That being said, it makes me sad to see messages on tons of social media sites calling on people to boycott the Olympics this year. I understand that people are upset but I don't believe boycotting the Olympics is the answer. I mean, doesn't every Olympics have some sort of controversy? (Don't even get me started on the Chinese Girls Gymnastics team from 2008. They were not 14-years-old.)
Olympic athletes train their entire lives to reach their dream of competing in the Olympics. When we see the athletes walk during Opening Ceremonies, they are smiling; some are even crying. The majority of those athletes won't medal. They won't get endorsement deals. We won't be seeing them on Dancing With the Stars. These athletes will either retire from their sport at the ripe old age of 25 or they will go back to their rigorous training schedule in hopes of competing in the next Olympics. So if we boycott the Olympics, what is the message we are sending to these athletes?
Since the people who read my blog are fellow authors, I like to use this analogy: Let's say that you are self-published. You worked with the team at Amazon. You have poured your heart, soul, sweat, blood, tears into those 200 pages. You have given up family time, sleep, probably called in sick to work when you weren't supposed to, just to realize your dream of publishing your very first book. You've worked hard all year to gain a following on social media sites. Your Facebook page has over 3,000 likes. You have thousands of followers on Twitter. Everyone is anxiously awaiting your book release. The day before your release, however, the CEO of Amazon makes a very controversial statement in an interview. (Which has not happened. I love Amazon. We're just pretending.) People are so outraged by the statement, they have decided to boycott Amazon. But wait, you scream to the masses! You have nothing to do with what the CEO of Amazon said in an interview. That isn't your point of view! You're just an author who is selling a book on Amazon! Oh well. Too bad. Sorry about your luck. Try again in 4 years.
Isn't that how we are treating the Olympic athletes if we boycott the Olympics? Oh well. Too bad. Sorry about your luck. Try again in 4 years. That's not really fair, is it? The athletes didn't pick Sochi. They aren't part of the Russian government. They are representing their country in the greatest sporting event that for them, comes every 4 years.
So even though I don't like the views of the Russian government, I still plan on sitting on my couch every night, starting tomorrow, from 8-12 supporting all of the athletes regardless of who they are, where they are from, what they look like, or what their sexual orientation is. They have given up a normal life to become an elite Olympic athlete. Shouldn't we at least give them two weeks of our time to cheer them on?
