As my fiancé and I watched the Wild play this weekend, I was reminded that the 2010 Olympics are coming up this February. The sports broadcasters were talking with Niklaus Backstrom about his participation in Olympic hockey this coming year. Although Nik plays goalie for the Minnesota Wild he will be playing in the Olympics for his home country, Finland. There are many different players in the NHL who are from different countries around the world who will be playing in the Olympics. The NHL must take a break for two weeks to prepare for the absence of some of its players.
This discussion made me think about how sports tie many different countries and cultures together. There are more than 6,000 languages spoken around the world, (Martin & Nakayama, 127) but if you show 8 different children in 8 different countries a soccer ball, chances are they will all know what to do with it. Sports provide an opportunity for individuals to work together as a team to reach a common goal, to win. In the Olympics sports are celebrated and the world comes together. It is too bad that the peace the Olympics bring typically only last for two weeks. After these two weeks are over, cultural conflicts resume. I wish that the Olympics could go on forever to allow for countries to come together, and the peace brought by the Olympics would be perpetual.
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