Flashes of Panic

Speaking of Sydney, does anyone remember the sprint relay at the last Olympics? The winning American team’s “victory lap” was a study in ugly-American-ism, strutting and preening and wrapping themselves in the flag. Certainly there’s a large proportion of exhibitionism and unchecked ego in sprinting, but in today’s atmosphere I think a similar display would have the Greeks ripping up the seat cushions and throwing them at the winning team.

There’s a great column in today’s USA Today by Christine Brennan with ideas for turning that around. One suggestion: while the US team marches in behind the large flag, usually they each have small flags they’re waving. Imagine if they traded those for the flags of their heritage. The Greeks have almost adopted world-champion decathlete Tom Pappas already (and who wouldn’t?); imagine if he’s next to Mebrahtom Keflezighi and his Eritrean flag, Abdi Abdirahman and a Somalian flag, Marion Jones with the flag of Belize… we are everyone.

The rest of it is plain old politeness. If Marion turns at the finish line and finds Ekaterina Thanou or Zhanna Block and hugs them the way Ana Guevara or Maria Mutola does. If David Krummenacker shakes hands with his opponents the way Haile Gebrselassie does. If the sprinters sit in the blocks inside their own heads, the way Ato Boldon or Kim Collins do, instead of trying to get into everyone else’s.

Actually, if we could just bottle Deena Kastor and have everyone take a drink before they go to Athens, that would be a good start.

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