Dear Editor,
Ever heard about the farmer who boasted about having two dozen chickens just because he had two dozen eggs? Well, the way we have been treating our athletes at the Brazil games, many would argue that maybe we Jamaicans are expecting a lot more from them than they can deliver.
I have seen a lot of advertisements and other promos throughout the media that are giving us, and indeed the world, the impression that our athletes are unbeatable. Some of us have gone to great lengths to tell the rest of us that we will better our performance in the last games, held four years ago. Now, while I, like anyone else, surely wish all the best for these athletes who represent us, I think, we should be a little more cautious in our expectations.
In the swimming finals that were held recently, the Jamaican representative did not medal. I think she came last, much worse than she did in the last games. On the track, we have had mixed results. However, for me, the fact that they all did their best was good enough. Yet, I have seen some sad commentaries about how some of our representatives have been performing. In particular, many were expecting Jamaica to get a swimming medal, for the first time.
The greatest expectations that most of us Jamaicans have, however, are on the track. We are constantly being reminded that our “unbeatable” track stars will again shock the world. Of course, I really do hope that for the rest of the events we do so, but I never like to count my chickens before they hatch — and I would urge the rest of us to do likewise.
The problem with what some of us see as these inflated expectations is that we are putting tremendous psychological pressure on these track stars to deliver. I don’t know about anybody else, but I think this is completely unfair to them. They already have enough on their minds — thinking and preparing to carry home the gold. I really don’t think we should burden them with additional possible worries of what they might face if they don’t perform as expected.
I know that we are mainly a country of entertainment. We don’t have much to boast about when it comes to the state of our economy and even less when it comes to our scientific achievements, so maybe one can pardon this great expectation that we place in our sports personalities. However, even here, we must be cautious.
We should wish these athletes all the best and still claim them, be proud of them and ‘big them up’ as our own, even if they don’t win.
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
Ever heard about the farmer who boasted about having two dozen chickens just because he had two dozen eggs? Well, the way we have been treating our athletes at the Brazil games, many would argue that maybe we Jamaicans are expecting a lot more from them than they can deliver.
I have seen a lot of advertisements and other promos throughout the media that are giving us, and indeed the world, the impression that our athletes are unbeatable. Some of us have gone to great lengths to tell the rest of us that we will better our performance in the last games, held four years ago. Now, while I, like anyone else, surely wish all the best for these athletes who represent us, I think, we should be a little more cautious in our expectations.
In the swimming finals that were held recently, the Jamaican representative did not medal. I think she came last, much worse than she did in the last games. On the track, we have had mixed results. However, for me, the fact that they all did their best was good enough. Yet, I have seen some sad commentaries about how some of our representatives have been performing. In particular, many were expecting Jamaica to get a swimming medal, for the first time.
The greatest expectations that most of us Jamaicans have, however, are on the track. We are constantly being reminded that our “unbeatable” track stars will again shock the world. Of course, I really do hope that for the rest of the events we do so, but I never like to count my chickens before they hatch — and I would urge the rest of us to do likewise.
The problem with what some of us see as these inflated expectations is that we are putting tremendous psychological pressure on these track stars to deliver. I don’t know about anybody else, but I think this is completely unfair to them. They already have enough on their minds — thinking and preparing to carry home the gold. I really don’t think we should burden them with additional possible worries of what they might face if they don’t perform as expected.
I know that we are mainly a country of entertainment. We don’t have much to boast about when it comes to the state of our economy and even less when it comes to our scientific achievements, so maybe one can pardon this great expectation that we place in our sports personalities. However, even here, we must be cautious.
We should wish these athletes all the best and still claim them, be proud of them and ‘big them up’ as our own, even if they don’t win.
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com