What does it mean to be an Olympian

It doesn't take much for someone to change their opinion of you. One second you can just be another average person on the street, but the moment you tell them that you are involved in an Olympic sport, whether summer or winter, something changes in their eyes. They view you in a different light. Some immediately wonder if you are rich, others want an autograph, and still others want to know what you do for training or even if you allow yourself to eat ice cream.

It took me awhile to get used to this sort of attention, the way you could stop conversation in a room with a simple utterance of what sport you participate in. I was the shy kid in Junior High School, a bit more of a "nerd." Certainly not someone that you would imagine would participate in the winter sport of bobsledding, hurling himself down icy tracks at 80 MPH in a 1,400-pound fiberglass and steel missle. So participating in televised races, fundraisers with huge crowds, and speaking engagements for large groups all placed me in positions where I'd often be the center of attention.

All because I had an Olympic dream.

I spent a lot of time wondering what the big deal was. I confess, I never really watched the Olympics growing up. To me they were just another sporting event that, much like the Super Bowl, I couldn't understand why everyone got so excited about it.

But as the years went by I think I got, at least in part, what "the big deal" was.

When you grow up surrounded by world class athletes, you come to see that they are a very different type of people. They eat, sleep, and live their dreams. They sacrifice and pay the price with their blood, sweat, toil, and tears. Through hours and hours of monotonous training, despite injuries and setbacks, they push on towards the achievement of their goals. Common men and women who CHOOSE to become uncommon, all because they are willing to place it all on the line for the sake of even once chance, just one chance, to stand before the world, represent their country, and place their dreams on the line. All to see if maybe, just maybe, they can prove they are the best in the world.

What does it mean to be an Olympian, or Olympic hopeful, then?

Perhaps Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States said it best:

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

Why do people around the globe love the Olympics so much? Why are Olympians (past, present, and future) held in such high esteem?

Hope. I think it all boils down to hope.

Olympians (again, meaning past, present, and future ones) are full of hope. Hence the reason they are so often sought after as motivational speakers! But that optimism, that light, that unquenchable fire to dream rubs off onto the rest of the world and kindles, or in some cases rekindles, fires in the spirits of those who watch, meet, or read about these athletes and their triumphs.

As we feel their inner fires warm our own hearts, we begin to believe in our own hopes and dreams. We watch the Olympics and remember that the world really can live in peace, that men and women from different nations can come together on the field of sport, shake hands, and compete against each other without hate. We watch, and in their dreams we find the strength to pursue our own dreams. Their hope gives us hope and in the end, we believe.

Olympians, like the Olympic torch itself, light the way for individuals everywhere to find their own way in a world that sometimes seems dark through war, famine, and disaster. Their examples, their courage, and their dedication all point as evidence toward the simple fact that as human beings, when we choose to, we can rise above the mundane and truly achieve anything we put our minds to.

I think that is why I am so proud to be a member of Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. When I look at what the incredible Team Darfur athletes are doing around the world to end this conflict that affects a people that most of us have not and will never meet, I can't help but stand a bit taller to know that I am a part of it. It is something we have put our minds to with a hope that we can help end the suffering of our fellow man, raise him up with the hand of friendship, and stand shoulder to shoulder with him as he pursues his own life's goals.

As athletes, 130 of us signed a formal letter that was sent to the government of China asking for an Olympic Truce to be implemented during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. An Olympic Truce calls for the cessation of hostilities for a period before, during, and after the Olympic Games. Our Olympic Truce calls for China to intercede in the genocide occurring in Darfur that daily affects thousands of people in horrible ways that most of us can hardly fathom. While leaders from around the globe sat back behind the comforts of speeches, Team Darfur stepped forward to request China take responsibility in this matter.

This was an incredible risk to Team Darfur athletes, 70 of whom are now preparing to compete for their countries in the Games. While perhaps not in direct response to the letter, our co-founder Joey Cheek's visa to attend the Games was revoked without explanation. Now, knowing that, place yourself in the shoes of those 70 athletes who believe in Team Darfur enough to be willing to place their Olympic chances on the line.

Maybe, in the end, that is what Olympians really are. They're reminders that we all have a responsibility to live up to the potential within us. That we can't always sit back in our comfort zones, content with living our own lives. That sometimes we have to stand for something. That if we want to be great we have to do what needs to be done, not just what we want to do. We have to take risks. We must reach out beyond our limits, step into the darkness, and find the light we never knew we had and then share that light with others.

Perhaps that is why the world loves Olympians so much.

They are willing to share their light with the entire world and they brighten our lives because of it.