Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

• 1 Corinthians 9:24

Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.

• Psalm 19:5

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

• Hebrews 12:1-2

I argued whether I wanted to even write anything about the Olympics.  The opening ceremony has been covered by a variety of people.  My only thought there is that with Hollywood in charge of the next one, we will not be opening the gates of hell, we’ll be swimming in the pool.  As for me, I gave up on opening ceremonies many Olympics ago.  Between virtue signaling, home country propaganda, and people pandering to the evil side of things, it has not been watchable in a long time.

So, here are some random bullet points:

• The athletic apparel giant with the commercials about being a bad person is disturbing.  They show athletes achieving their best.  Are they maniacal, obsessed, willing to take what belongs to someone else and not give it back?  Sure, but within the confines of the rules of that sport.  Some of those athletes read the Bible verses above and gave the glory to God.  At least, I am sure there were those who did.
• Can we continue to beat world records at every Olympics?  Can you imagine a marathon (over 26 miles of running) where the announcer says, “Here they are at the start. …  Umm. I blinked and the race is over.  Oops!”  No, at some point, the physical structure of the human body will limit the world records, but seeing some of those swimmers that swam so hard that they almost needed help getting out of the pool.  We may be getting close.
• The repechage reminds me of the movie They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  For those who have never seen this Oscar winner, they focus on a dancing marathon and how people are willing to almost die to win the prize, and some did die.  Oops, spoiler alert.  You run your heat.  Everybody moans that the ninth fastest should be in the big race, so, everyone that did not qualify races again the next day.  If you did not qualify because you were so arrogant that you thought you could coast against the world’s greatest, you do not deserve a second chance.  But is the second chance race fair for anyone else?  Yes, you now qualify, but you are exhausted.  Bye weeks in a tournament works in that there is ample rest for everyone, but this is cruel.  Three races, three days in a row.  Yes, you have a chance, but then the drug testers come into play in that you have to remove the lactic acid, rest, and build strength and energy for each race.
• And even after repechage lets more people into the next round, there eventually are three medalists.  A couple of fourth place finishers in Tokyo got their medals this time, but it is hard being that fourth place finisher.
• Then there are the team competitions that have group play, then elimination play. You have to win a few times, and you are only guaranteed a medal in the finals. Fourth place in such competitions is extra tough.
• And as for the lady who lost the Bronze Medal by disqualification, my heart goes out to you.  The video replay showed the violation and I doubt that the swimmer was aware of it at the time.  Some people try to cheat, but that looked like a momentary lapse of concentration, a matter of a split second too soon.
• And when you see an athlete from a country that has never medaled, or never medaled in that discipline, the joy is real.
• While I loved seeing bits of the gymnastics, I stayed away from most of the sports that required a team of judges.  I grew up in the Cold War.  The Russian judge saw to it that the Russian got high scores and everyone else was looking at a silver medal.  Yes, high and low scores were thrown out, but somehow other judges helped the Russian (for one reason or another – allegedly).  Watching Simone Biles and some of the others was pure poetry in motion.  It was athletic, but then the scoring can never be purely objective.  I like those events where you throw farther or get to the line first.
• And when you look at the 1 Corinthians Scripture above, that was probably referring to the original Olympics, but there was only a handful of competitions.  They have so many goofy things that they now call ‘sport’.  Sure, they require athleticism, but can we leave a lot of that stuff to the “X” games?  Of course, a lot of it goes back to the previous bullet point.

I ran track two years in high school, seriously running during my senior year – just to catch the flu as the season started, followed by my annual pollen allergies.  I never knew that all the tracks in northern Mississippi were lined with clover.  It was either run a sub-four-minute mile (done indoors in the winter) or breathe.  I chose to breathe.  I have heard of so many Olympians that overcame something.  I guess I was not made of the right stuff.  But I had run over 2,000 miles that calendar year, June to May, just to get breathing problems.  Can you imagine running the basketball court bleachers, up and down the steps, for an hour every school day for one and a half semesters?  Olympic athletes have to be obsessive.

Then, in college, I was invited to join the soccer team, due to my ability to kick a ball, a club team in that the athletic conference did not sponsor it.  But I was not invited until my senior year.  Not much chance to improve my skills.  Then, for the same reason, a semi-pro rugby team in my hometown in Germany, while in the Army, wanted me for my kicking skills, but when three players were in traction after the next game, I decided not to join the team.

So, I admire the swimmers.  I sympathize and empathize with the track and field athletes.  And I wonder what might have been with the team sports.  But my muscles do not feel the burn sitting in a recliner with the remote control – usually to mute the commercials.  No offense, but I avoided the offense by muting the commercials.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.