Team USA or Team Us?

"I know the fight is on the way...
When the sides have been chosen."
~Keep Your Eyes Open by Needtobreathe

Democrats vs. Republicans
Dogs vs. Cats
Obama vs Romney
Left vs. Right
PS3 vs. XBox 360
Jif vs. Peter Pan
Mac vs PC
The 1% vs. the 99%
USA vs. The World

There is competition everywhere. There is always one side against another. There is always a winner and always a loser. As I look forward to the upcoming 2012 Olympics, I realize one thing: there is only one race and that is the HUMAN race.

Every four years the Olympics arrive and viewers pick their events to follow. I usually like watching the gymnastics, some of the track and field events, and the swimming. Just like everyone else in America, I watch Team USA with great anticipation. I enjoy the medal count and I am always excited when I see USA crushing the competition in golds, silvers, and bronzes.  America has its highly trained competitors with major endorsements who prepare and train as their full-time job. Meanwhile, in some remote country a few fans gather around a small television to watch the warriors they have sent. Rarely do they ever win a medal, but they follow their athletes just the same. Many countries can barely afford the round-trip ticket for one person. Yet they send them anyway and cheer and smile when the finish line is crossed, whether or not a medal is involved.

The experience I mentioned in an earlier post about meeting a man from India on the flight to Chicago comes back to mind. As we huddled over the map of the world, I strangely realized we had a lot in common. He had lived in Atlanta, Georgia for three years so he understood a little bit of our culture. He had kids and a job. He had been to the Grand Canyon and had driven through Las Vegas. He had even taken his family to Disney World. He knew more about my country than I knew about his. Amazingly, he also spoke English along with three Indian dialects.

Many believe we are so different from people who live 10,000 miles away. Our skin color is different. We speak different languages. We worship a different way or not at all. And yet their hearts beat and pump the same kind of blood. They cry at weddings and funerals and they laugh at a giggling baby. They enjoy a good meal. They love being around their family. And they all have a heart that beats a final thump as breath leaves the lungs for one last time.

In the end, the competition that we thought was so important was evidently just a game. A game that we all have to play, though we play it in so many different ways. I guess what the Olympics teach me is that we all want to win and we all want to be proud of where we live. It makes me believe we are more alike than we are different. The thirst to win and succeed is ingrained in every individual on Earth.

The important point is that we finish strong. If we do, we are winners in the biggest game of all.