The Evolving Meaning of the Olympics...

Image via Wikipedia I flipped on the bronze medal match of men's volleyball the other day and saw Brazil vs. Georgia.

I did a double take when I saw the last names of the players "Geor" and "Gia."

"What are the odds?" I thought. "That's just not possible."

A few searches of Google and I had my answer.

Apparently, the Georgian Olympic Committee had decided to invest in beach volleyball and had essentially hired 2 pairs of Brazilians (one men and one women) to represent their country in the Olympics. The two guys had changed their last names accordingly.

That left me a bit puzzled.

Aren't the Olympics supposed to give each country a chance for its own people/culture, etc. to demonstrate its athletic prowess? Isn't the sports field suppose to replace the battlefield?

Are the Brazilians, in this case, nothing more than modern day Hessians?

So, what's happening here?

If Georgia can't produce beach volleyball players and has to import them, what purpose does the Olympics serve?

I suppose it is an opportunity for a country to coalesce around something. I mean, it's not like all of the Yankees are native New Yorkers, right?

So having a few people who agree to wear your flag and bring attention to your country (even if they aren't from there/born there/live there) may not be such a bad thing.

Besides, it's a win-win. The Brazilians couldn't make their own country's team, so this is right in line with the increased professionalism of the games.

The more I think about it, the more examples of it happening anyway, the more I am comfortable with it.

If Georgians (and granted they are in a unique situation these days) FEEL more close-knit because 2 brazilians are wearing a Georgian flag and competing in a medal game (which otherwise would not be the case), then maybe the investment in hiring these freelancers is worth it.

Gives me a new business idea www.olympianfreelancer.com  You know, match up athletes willing to sell their talents with countries that need it.

Not sure it is exactly the same, but the world-record holder in the Women's 1500m has a similar situation (though her story of persecution is admittedly different)

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May-Treanor, Walsh, and the Cycle of Feminism

Image by Getty Images via Daylife Like many, I love watching beach volleyball. Sure, the bikinis don't hurt, but as a former volleyball player in high school, I do really enjoy the game.

Watching May-Treanor and Walsh repeat as gold medalists was a great Olympic moment. Hard-fought match against worthy opponents, but I thought the real moment happened afterwards.

The NBC reporter basically asked "so, what are you going to do next?"

Neither of them said "I am going to Disneyland."

They both said, "I want to have a baby and start a family."

Call me a bit dramatic, but for me this was a watershed moment in the history of feminism.  I am far from a student of the movement, but for years, my impression was that women were expected to forgo family to focus on career and that you would never raise the personal issue of family within a career context. 

Or, as my friend Rachel remarked, 'staying home with your kids was looked down upon."

I think May-Treanor and Walsh are saying, "not anymore."

Like stuffing the ball of an opponents spike, they are saying, "we've done our career thing and now, we want to do our family thing, and that's more than ok!"

They love Volleyball and will come back to it, but for now, it's not their focus.

In other words, it is ok (at least in their mind) to step away from their careers. You can have it all, but since you can't do it all (at the same time), it makes sense to do things in more manageable chunks.

I think this is a great moment for women who wonder "can I afford to take the time off?"

From a skills perspective, it may take May/Walsh more time to get back into Volleyball shape, but from a societal perspective (and Dara Torres showed this as well) more and more people are going to say
"She took time off from her career to focus on her family!!"

Not, 'she took time off from her career to focus on her family :-( '

Congratulations to Kerry and Misti.

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