I watched a tremendous program on HBO called Sport in America: Our Defining Stories. It debuted on Thanksgiving but I hadn’t heard anything about it until I accidentally stumbled across it this morning. I only planned on seeing what it was and ended up engrossed for 2 hours. Here is a quick video description.
What I took out of the program was how diverse America is. The stories that range from a wheelchair racer, a Jewish swimmer, a woman field goal kicker, a Mexican pitcher, and black boxer. No other country comes together like America and because of all this diversity and acceptance, we have risen to be the most dominant country in sports. You don’t see Caucasian athletes winning gold medals from China but you will find incredible Asian figure skaters. America is like a cornucopia of the best of everything sports related. It’s because to be the best, you have to be specialized. This is no secret but it’s why America has such a leg up on other countrys.
The diversity is America’s advantage. Our country is made up of so many different races that we have individuals who can excel at their passion. Since American stands for freedom and is the land of opportunity, it takes in the best of what the world has to offer with no exclusions. It’s truly and amazing ideal and the unbelievable results that are seen. Do you know that the US has won 2,653 Olympic medals? The next closest is the Soviet Union with 1,204. This is an incredible gap and should help explain why freedom should be universal. The real point to take out is that it this doesn’t only apply to sports. It’s ideas, thoughts, relationships, and everything else that a melting pot of people bring together. After watching this documentary I felt a stronger bond to what it’s like to be an American.
Other countries won’t have the celebrated background that this documentary shows. It’s titled, Sport in America. Other countries aren’t watching this documentary in their homeland because they have no interest. With the Olympic medal count as a barometer, our country has the most decorated sports history. This is the best sports history on the planet. So to be an American and watch how sports affect people’s lives, there is a real sense of nationalism that most documentary’s don’t bring out of me. I teared up at least 3 times during it and that is a complete rare event. The Boston fan and the cemetery and Brandi Chastain and the soccer penalty kick were two moments. I highly recommend you watch it and comment on this post and see if you felt the same way I do.
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