Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that all of our Australian gold medals so far have involved water? We have won gold medals in swimming, rowing, yachting and triathlon. All involve water in some way.
I guess it helps to be a water loving nation that is surrounded by ocean on all sides!
What does the national anthem say again? “Our home is girt by sea” 
I had a feeling before this Olympics Australia would finish in the top 10 in the medal count. This is a bit lower than we have in the last few Olympics, but still a great result.
One of the reasons I felt this way is because of few of our medal hopes pulled out just before the games. This includes three from track and field alone.
Another reason why I suspected this is because over the last few years many other countries have caught up to us in the swimming. In years gone by it would be USA first and then Australia second in the pool. This year it seems the French, Japanese, Korean, and the Germans have made up some ground. This was evident in the lead up due to world records being taken by those other than USA or Australia.
The third reason is because traditionally countries that have the Olympics usually perform well in the lead up Olympics, then the games they hold themselves and the one after (ie Atlanta, Sydney, Athens). The second games after the results drop away to a more normal level. The hype of having the games and then the flow on effect lasts for a time and then slowly drops away.
Time will tell exactly where Australia finishes, but I believe that if we finish in the top 10 it will be a great result. We need to remember we are a small country compared to some of the bigger nations. Back in the 1970s or 1980s if we got four gold medals we would have been ecstatic and the team would have been welcomed home as heroes.
I just read a great story on the ABC news website. It talked about how one of the riders in the Tour de France was caught because the drug company Roche put a secret molecule in the latest batches of EPO.
EPO is a drug that is legitimately used to help people with anemia and kidney disease. It boosts the way oxygen is used by the body. The problem is that athletes sometimes use this to boost their performance in endurance sports.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said they have been working in secret with major drug companies to develop new drugs with markers in them that will be easily detected. I believe this co-operation between WADA and the drug companies is a great step forward for all sports.
The problem I have with drugs in sport is that it is cheating. That goes without saying. But I also believe it robs people of the rightful celebration they deserve when they win. If you and I have a race and I win, I get to stand on the dais and celebrate in front of the world. If the next day I test positive for a drug and get thrown out, I have still “stolen” your rightful celebration. You may be awarded the gold medal or stage win jersey at a later stage, but I have still stolen your celebration. That moment in time can never be replaced.
It will be interesting to see how many athletes preparing for the Olympics pull out now with an “injury” because they are worried that they may now be caught by secret markers in their drugs.
I just had another round of golf. I noticed something interesting in about the guy who was playing on the hole in front of me. He loaded up his ball and tried to smash it all the way to the green every time. Most of the time it went about 150 metres and into the bush. It would then take him 7 or 8 shots to get it in the hole.
Compare this to my game. I hit within my limits and most times my drive landed in the middle of the fairway 170-180 metres down. My second shot was a long iron that either landed in chipping distance or I played another short iron. Most of time I got a par or bogey.
What I found interesting is that while I tried to play within my limits and as a result I scored well. The other guy tried to smash it to score well, but did poorly. I thought about this as I walked around and found that many people have this same approach to life. Some go like a bull at a gate and take life full on, only to stumble most of the time. While others take a measured approach and seem to do well.
Now I am not saying that either approach is better than the other as we are all wired differently, but for me I found both my golf and life seem to go smoother when I take a measured approach. If I rush in and go hammer and tongs things usually go awry, but if hold back and prayerfully consider things they usually turn out ok.
For me, a prayerful, measured, consistent approach to life seems to work best. How about you?
There has been some talk in the media lately about changing the Brownlow Medal eligibility. In years gone by the award has been given to the fairest and best player in the AFL at the end of the season.
In the news there has been talks about dropping the fairest part of the award and just making it available to the best player as voted by the umpires. I don’t know about you, but something about dropping the “fairest” tag doesn’t quite sit right with me.
I really like the idea that the Brownlow Medal is for the best player, but also the fairest player. I believe that sport is about pitting your skills against your opponents and trying to beat them. But to me it must be done fairly and within the spirit of the game. In some way making it restricted to those who play by the rules and have not been suspended makes it more valuable in my eyes.
I would hate to see the AFL change it. After all there are plenty of other awards out there for the “best” players, especially the media awards.
The Indian Premier League 20/20 Cricket Tournament finished up overnight. While I didn’t feel overly attached to any of the teams I did enjoy watching some of the games that had the Aussies playing in them. Of the 60 games I probably saw parts of about 20 of them (it helps to be a night owl!). Reflecting back on the tournament I can see a couple of positives came out of it.
The first is that players from all countries came together and played as teams. Boundaries were not set on international lines, where things had started to become a bit tribal and aggressive over the last couple of years. As the tournament progressed you could see players from India, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia were building lasting friendships. You could see things slowly changing. This will be a very positive thing for Cricket in the years to come.
The second thing is that a lot of fringe players got a chance to play against the big names of world cricket. I always love to see someone who has had a dream to play in the big time finally get their chance. When that moment comes where they really believe they belong at this level it is like a light comes on inside them. Andrew Symmonds did this in the World Cup several years back and I think Shane Watson did it this time. He won the player of the tournament scoring nearly 500 runs and taking 17 wickets. This might see him really step up and take his place long term in the Aussie team.
So while the IPL didn’t really grab me at first I can see how it has been very positive overall. If it gave some young players a chance to step up and it helped players from different countries see that we are not all that different after all then it has served a purpose. These two things alone will help world cricket to be better in the years to come.
I was watching an interview with Sachin Tendulkar on the cricket coverage yesterday. It was interesting to hear what his life is like in India. He can hardly leave his home in India as he is so popular and people mob him wherever he goes. From the interview it sounded like he preferred to be away from home as he more of a chance to relax and have time alone.
This made me think about how at times we idolise our sports stars. It is to the point that in some cases we worship them. From a very young age many of them are mobbed by adoring fans, bucket loads of money is thrown at them and they are treated like royalty. Is it any wonder that some of them go off track?
Now I love my sport just as much as the next guy, probably more to be honest. But I think we need to keep our adulation in check. We can admire our sports heroes and respect their ability, but it has to fall a long way short of worship.
The Bible tells us that we should worship God and Him alone (Exodus 20:3). When we put our sports stars on a high pedistool and give them worship, it sets them up for a big fall as people were not ever intended to be worshipped. More importantly though, it robs God of what should belong to Him alone.
The West Coast Eagles (my AFL team) have beaten the Sydney Swans tonight by 1 point….again. I don’t know how much more of this my heart can take. I am sure I started following the Eagles for relaxation, it doesn’t seem like it at the moment!
It reminds me of back in the 1990s when I used to be a supporter of the Perth Wildcats basketball team and go to all the home games. Whenever the Adelaide 36′ers came to town the game always were decided by a point. Quite often it went into overtime too.
At least church should be nice and relaxing tomorrow by comparison…hopefully!
Many people are under the impression that because someone plays sport for their country or they play sport at an elite level, they are automatically role models for our kids to follow. I do not agree with this line of thinking.
I think we need to realise that sports people are no different to anyone else in society. They are very good in some areas of their lives and in other areas they might struggle. No-one is perfect and not everyone is up to being a role model. We are currently seeing this being played out in a local AFL club where a number of players have had personal problems recently.
For example, if you work with 50 accountants, not all of them are role models. There might actually be about five or six who you might like to model yourself. This is because they display good skills, knowledge of their field, they have good interpersonal skills and they work in a professional way. I believe the same goes for our elite sports people. Out of a team of 42 players there might only be a handful that fit the role model category.
Here are some of my thoughts on what makes a good role model for our kids: