Not to me, but to the athletes who won them they mean the world. After all the rigorous years of training, injuries, contests, wins and losses it's just recognition of their struggle. When was the last time you stood on a platform and had a medal hung around your neck and were told "Well John Doe this is to award you for all the hard work you did for us this year, and for all the money we made on your back, we give you this tin medal" Did this happen to you, I doubt it. You know why John Doe, because you're nobody, just a number and totally expendable. Honoring our athletes goes back centuries and is part of our world's culture. They bring us happiness, and our countries pride. Yeah, I love to see people succeed when so many around us fail. I guess it shows that if you try hard enough success may be in the wings for all of us if we try hard enough.
To those who win them, they mean a whole lot. If someone wants to be the best they can be at whatever it is they do, gaining entry into the Olympics says it all. And winning, whatever medal, proves it. That is to say that that person is best at this skill, not that that person (country) is superior to everybody else in all ways. Though, I can imagine there's political energy behind it all. Bragging rights until the next Olympics, at least. Too, I can see where winning can give a smaller country a leg up. To increase moral. Then there are those who stand up and claim we are the champions of the world! There will always be those who read the meaning of the event to their own use. But there are those, too, who enter the Olympics for the reason the Olympics was started in the first place. The Rings and what they mean mean something to them. Those deserve to be honored.
How else are you going to get you face on a box of Wheaties......lol......Well I guess it is good for one to root for their country but what does it really say about a people that are best at synchronized swimming is that something that makes them any better than someone else. I love my country. But loving my country does not require me to hate the rest of the world. We should honor the athletes for their commitment to excellence and just enjoy the competition and stop the medal counting. We are all in this together.
F A Second Sometimes The Prestige Of It.. Yes ..To Say I Won One For The USA Is Worth It.. All The Money Spent To Train All The Hours Training.. All The Defeats Before The Win .. Sports Sponsors Beat Down Your Door.. Having Family And Friends Come From Across The Country To See You.. 'Compete. To Be On Tape In Front Of Millions Wearing The Medal.. I'd Do It But I'm As Athletic As A Living Room Couch.. And It Takes Mucho Dinero To Even Get There And Buy Equipment Needed Like Ski Stuff Or Skating Stuff.. People Win By Millimeters Of A Second Sometimes... I Guess... In The Long Run... Yes If You Have The Time To Train And The Money.. I'd Love To Get The Gold In Figure Skating..
Recognition for our achievements always matters to the one receiving the prize. It also matters to people who can appreciate the effort and talent that stands behind the medal. That's why the product endorsements are so valuable. We all like to be associated with winners.
To each and every athlete that is accepted as a participant in the Olympics, the answer is yes. They have competed and were chosen to represent their country in the greatest competition in the world. When that medal is hung around his neck, it is a symbol of the greatness he/she has achieved. It notifies the world that hard work and dedication can pay off big. I believe our U.S. Athletes receive $25,000 plus any endorsements that may follow at the end of the events. The sense of pride that the medal gives to the athlete and the country of his origin is outstanding...unless, of course, he/she has changed his citizenship to improve their chances to win, which some do. Some athletes go so far as to leave family for years to train in a better facility or with a better coach than is available in his home country. Still, the newly adopted country of the competitor is quick to claim them as their own if they win a medal. Does a medal make a real difference in the lives of those countrymen? Not really, it is just bragging rights. It does not improve the ability of the government to protect it's citizens, the cost of food does not come down, the availability of necessities such as clothing and homes does not become easier to obtain....just bragging rights to a medal. So, in one way it is a symbol of a wonderful achievement and in another, it makes very little difference.
Let's put it this way .let a olympian foul up,bleep or blunder and all their so called friends in the media would drop them like a hot potato unless they can advance their careers(make money from it) at the same time by talking to them or hanging around them.not to mention their backers/the advertisers.as we have seen with tiger woods. I can just imagine what they would do to and with a olympian who made some mistakes in life. I guess it is like how the world treats silver medalists or bronze even. Even though they are world class athletes you don't see the media /shows clamoring to get them in front of the cameras on their shows unless it happens to be a local show or they need a filler for a quick ratings boost.it's actually quite sad how the world treats their olympians they were so proud to send in the first place. Sort of like the speed skater and his coach when he directed him into the wrong lane. What a way to foul up on world wide tv for the rest of his life he is on tape/dvd blowing his own athletes chance at a medal after four years of work.but that's what these athletes work for is a hunk of metal and the recognition that goes with it.i guess what you would have to be able to do is actually ask the ones that have put their life into winning and then failing, to see what they think afterwards.to them i would say it matters a great deal or they would not of spent four years prepping for it.it does not matter to me because it has little influence or effect in my personal life.
To the countries who win them, YES. Many governments thrive on winning these medals and much EFFORT is put into winning by the athletes so that their families will have a little better life. This whole thing is VERY political for communist countries especially.
