It began when I was seven years old. Glued to the television on Saturday afternoons I would watch ABC’s Wide World of Sports. My excitement mounted as the broadcaster announced the day’s itinerary, welcoming us to bear witness to “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!” Victory or defeat, not much in between. Yes, the all-or-nothing approach to life started quite young! Now I am 70 years old, long into the journey of trying to let go of either/or, dualistic thinking. It’s been a scrappy journey to say the least.
So, this summer I find myself glued to the television again, this time for the Paris Olympics 2024. Two solid weeks of non-stop sports! I felt the exhilaration of my seven-year-old heart all over again! But alas, this time another feeling lurked on the sidelines. Who was this interloper? “You shouldn’t be watching this stuff,” it sniggered with a deriding curl of its lip. Guilt had arrived!
Yes, there is much to criticize about the Olympics! Try as they do to promote “excellence, respect, and friendship,” the Games are also replete with corruption, racism, and greed. Like Paris did, most Olympic cities ‘clean their streets’ of the homeless to present a more manicured image to the world. Is the International Olympic Committee corrupt? How does this “non-profit” make so much money, yet some athletes are forced to sell images of their bodies to a website known for its sexually explicit content, to pay for training and the monthly bills? France banned the hijab for any of its Olympic athletes. And what Canadian will forget the shame of the “drone scandal” in the women’s soccer tournament? The list goes on….
Alas, there is much to admire about the Olympics! France’s determination to have the opening ceremony take place on the historic River Seine, the first in the history of the Games to not take place in a stadium; this, in defiance of any possible terrorist threat. To be gobsmacked by the courage of Celine Dion’s emotive rendition of Hymne à l’mour; this, her first public performance in four years after being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder impacting her muscles, including her vocal cords. ¹
The gender parity of these games was astonishing: equal numbers of women and men competing! How long it has taken us to get to this place? For the first time in the modern day Olympic movement the final event of the Games was the women’s marathon, and not the men’s event. The podium winners of the marathon are presented their medals during the closing ceremony. And what a powerful highlight to see the winner, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan, receive her gold medal while wearing her hijab! And, the marathon that day traced the route of the 1789 women’s march on Versailles demanding just prices for bread from the king! This list goes on too….
So, as with most of reality’s cruciform pattern, I am conflicted, caught on the horns of this dilemma, and much, much bigger ones as well. Richard Rohr writes, “The cross was the price Jesus paid for living in a “mixed” world, which is both human and divine, simultaneously broken and utterly whole.” ² From this transformative place, perhaps one is allowed to both praise and protest the Olympics? All crucifixions to the contrary, I believe God is still leading us somewhere good and positive. ³
¹ I recall Dion’s performance in Quebec for John Paul II in 1984 when she was just 16 years old:
Celine Dion | Une colombe (for the Pope John Paul, Olympic Stadium, Quebec, 1984) Full Performance (youtube.com)
² Rohr, Richard. The Universal Christ, How A Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe. New York: Convergent Books, p. 147, 2019.
³ Ibid, p. 95
Sandra Stewart is a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in Winnipeg. Originally from Windsor, ON she has spent most of her religious life in Manitoba but has also served in France, Senegal and Papua New Guinea. She holds a Masters degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in Chicago, majoring in spiritual accompaniment from the Institute for Spiritual Leadership.
Presently she serves as a spiritual director, a facilitator of Centering Prayer workshops, and an advocate for social and environmental justice.
Sandra currently serves on her community’s province leadership team in Canada.
You have opened my eyes. I did not know much about Olympic in France.
Thank you, Sandy, for taking on such a challenging topic – for naming the “dark side” of the Olympics, not uncommon to so many of our institutions, and in the face of which the “lights” shine all the more brightly, perhaps. The photo of you in a First Communion dress with a baseball bat is priceless!!