Olympic Dreamers

A famous American novelist Henry Miller once wrote, “Humans work while gods play�. But there are some humans who like to become gods as they love to play all their lives. Such human beings are dreamers. Some of those dreamers used to live in Greece and were inspired by Greek gods like Zeus.

We are all aware that human beings love dreaming. Some dream at night while others dream during the daytime. Some have small dreams while others have big dreams. Olympic Dreamers have big dreams as they want to become part of history and be remembered for generations.

The dream of Olympic Games came true for the first time in history in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece and continued till 393 AD after which it faded into the background. Those were the times when only men were allowed to compete in the games and were completely naked. Those days naked human bodies were perceived as beautiful and artistic rather than erotic and pornographic. In 1833 the Greek poet, Panagiotis Soutsos, wrote a poem Dialogue of the Dead which revived the interest in the Olympic Dream and the first modern Olympic Games were played in 1859. The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 by Pierre Coubertin, a Frenchman and with passage of time the Olympic Dream became bigger and bigger with the Olympic motto: Citius Altius Fortius…Faster, Higher, Stronger. In 1896, participating in the Olympic Dream were 14 countries and 241 players while the 2004 Summer Olympics had 202 nations and 11,100 competitors.

When we focus on the psychology of Olympic Dreamers we realize that playing is a creative activity. All human beings enjoy playing as children as it is the best way to be healthy and learn about the mysteries of life. As children grow older many of them stop playing and adopt a responsible lifestyle where work dominates play. For many adults daily responsibilities at work and in the family leave little time for play. In the Western world people have become so obsessed with work that even when they go to the gym for exercise, rather than calling it play they call it a ‘workout’.

Olympic players, like other creative personalities, like to play all their lives. While other creative personalities play by becoming poets or painters, playwrights or philosophers, Olympic players focus on sports and stretch their bodies as much as their minds as they know that healthy minds need healthy bodies.

Over a period of time future Olympic players discover their special talent, a special gift that nature has offered them. As they nurture their natural gift and enjoy it, their interest turns into a passion. For some it turns into an obsession of winning and not just a passion of playing and having fun. Olympic players not only have a dream to be the best in their own community and country but also in the whole world as they want to live on the world stage and in the history books. They practice for long hours everyday for weeks, months, years even decades. They want to perfect the art and craft of their sport, their artistic medium, as many of them have perfectionist and idealist personalities.

While playing is a healthy activity and to fulfill one’s dream can make one’s life more meaningful, if it crosses certain boundaries it can create problems. The same players who are obsessed with winning can be afraid of losing and become so nervous and neurotic that their anxiety can paralyze them and they can experience serious physical and emotional problems. I have met a number of competitive players in my practice, who, either became anorexic, got addicted to drugs or experienced family breakdowns as they could not keep a balance between their personal, professional and family lives. In addition, the same competitive spirit that helps players in their sports can easily spillover to other aspects of their life and poison their future. It is also amazing to see how Olympic Dreamers become disciplined and committed to their dreams and adopt the attitude of marathon runners where endurance is as important as talent.

For some Olympic players the sport starts as a pleasant dream but over the years transforms into a violent nightmare. For some their national and cultural pride forces them to win by hook or by crook, by legal as well as illegal means. That is why it is not surprising that some athletes were caught using illegal drugs. While athletes identify with their nations, their nations also identify with them.
When they win they get a loud applause but if they lose they feel disappointed, disillusioned even betrayed. The Olympic Dream not only highlights personal psyche, it also highlights cultural psyche. It was interesting that when Ben Johnson won a gold medal as the fastest athlete of the world he was perceived as a Canadian but when he was charged with abusing illegal drugs he became a Black West Indian overnight.

For many Olympians being part of the game is a mixed blessing. On the one hand they receive a lot of attention by their heads of the states but they can also get caught in the national and international politics. Many wars of religion and nationality are fought through sports when playgrounds turn into battlegrounds. That was the case when in the Summer Games of 1972 in Munich, West Germany, eleven members of Israeli Team were taken hostage by a group called Black September. Stephen Spielbrg even made a movie Munich in which he showed how Golda Meir ordered the killings of suspected terrorists. The Olympics can become so political that political statements can be made by boycotting the games. In 1972 and 1976 many African countries threatened boycotting the Olympics to ban South Africa for their anti-humane apartheid policies and laws. It is sad to see those Olympic players who have to sacrifice their dreams on the altar of national pride and political prejudice. It is amazing how the Islamic Republic of Iran orders its athletes not to participate in those sports in which players from Israel are competing.

Most Olympic players fulfill their dream once while there are some who fulfill it more than once. There was only one athlete in history who won in six Olympics. Such a six time dreamer was wrestler Milo of Croton in the sixth century BC.

Many Olympic Dreamers start with a healthy attitude of developing healthy bodies and minds by joining sports but as time passes many become obsessed with winning and afraid of losing and can sacrifice twenty years of their lives for twenty seconds of fame. While it is exciting and inspiring to see some Olympic players fulfill their dreams it is also sad to see those whose dreams turn into disturbing nightmares. In 1960 Olympic Games Danish cyclist Knud Enemark died as he had been abusing amphetamines. Sometimes the higher people rise the lower they fall. When Olympic Dreamers become obsessed with winning and adopt unhealthy and self destructive lifestyles they forget the ideal of Coubertin that is reflected in his comment,
‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not to triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.�’

The forefathers of Olympics had one more dream. They hoped that Olympic Games would replace tribal wars. Rather than killing young men in the battleground they would compete with each other in the playground and final a healthy channel for expressing their aggressive instincts and violent tendencies.

With the passage of time Olympic Dreamers have gained a centre stage in world sports. The 2000 Sydney Olympics had 16000 journalists and 3.8 billion viewers, more viewers than any other event that year. It is also exciting to see that Olympic Dreams are no longer restricted to men. Women might still not be allowed in many other spheres of life in many parts of world but in Olympics they are more than welcome now.

Olympic Dreamers dream to become gods and goddesses as they are inspired by Greek gods and goddesses.