Proud of Mellisa Hollingsworth

I watched Mellisa Hollingsworth give an interview after she made a mistake in her skeleton race which took what looked like a silver medal and sent her to 5th place. She was crying, and when asked how she felt, she responded that she felt that she let down a whole nation.

I can't express how much I felt for her, but the feeling quickly turned to anger against the kind of pressure that could make her think she failed her nation. I'm all for being proud of our athletes and love cheering them on and hope they win. Hell, I even swear and curse then they make a mistake and lose a medal, like I did when I saw Mellisa's mistake in her last run. But let's be honest, I'm a schmuck in an armchair, with no right to even have a negative thought about her performance.

I know I'm a schmuck in an armchair because I've had the fortunate opportunity to experience athletic competition in many sports (nothing near olympic caliber of course). The thing about sports is that everyone can't win. So that begs the question of why should anyone be encouraged to enter into competitive sports to begin with, whether it's in school, a local club, or wherever that competition is available.

I believe (cheesy olympic theme plug) that reason is failure. That's right. The thrill of winning is the reward, and it's a great reward. But every reward has a risk. The risk to not winning is losing. And losing in an athletic competion teaches us that failing is OK. That we'll wake up tomorrow and life will go on, that we'll be happy again, and we'll even begin to think about winning again.

It is absolutely vital that we teach our children that failing is OK. If we don't, they'll be afraid to try, and failure to try guarantees zero progress is ever made. Acceptance of the possibility of failure is what pushes us forward.

So, I'm proud of Melissa. I'm proud because she went after the biggest reward available to her, and the risk of failure that comes with it. As an Olympic athlete, she is a role model for us and our children. Her failure shows us all that we are a nation that is not afraid to try. Trying is what will move us forward as a nation.

Way to go Mellisa. I'm proud of you.