I wrote yesterday about how I was upset at the wording used in a Cease and Desist letter from the USOC to Ravelry. I was upset. The tone didn't sit right with me. I posted a link to an NPR article about the letter and subsequent apology. I wasn't mad. I was... how did I put it to The Best Friend... I was "Canadian Mad". I too wanted to raise my voice in letter form and let the USOC know that I was offended by the tone. The Other Half checked the US Copyright Laws, and looked over the laws governing the use of "Olympic" and derivations thereof, which did help, because now I understand it better (something about the way he explains things gets my brain thinking on the right track). Then I slept on it, and this morning I thought a little more.
I understand the need to defend the term. If you don't do it every time, you won't be able to when it really counts. I understand the letter wasn't supposed to be personal; it's not an attack, it's really from one organization to another. I shouldn't take it personally, because it didn't have my name on it. I don't like the language, I think it could be worded better, but I can accept that there were other circumstances the committee has come across where that language may have been necessary; as such it became their standard use (I found other examples of the same letter, with the same language).
At the same time, I have to remember my Dad. Dad was a runner for a long time, and a track coach for people who were aiming to go to the Olympics. I remember his road trips to competitions, I remember the coaching his runners went through. I remember him telling me that two of his friends, excellent athletes both, had trained their bodies to an extent where they weren't able to have the kids they wanted when they got married (apparently when you train really REALLY hard, some female biological functions get deemed useless wastes of bodily resources and they just stop functioning). For some people that's really important to them, and their plans for the future, how could it be if two of your greatest dreams cannot be had at the same time; how would that feel?
I'm not an athlete by any means. And I do feel that athletes, those who truly play for the love of their game and the sport, those who are willing to push their bodies to the limit, while staying within the rules, those athletes deserve my respect and support. I have no love for anyone that cheats, whatever the means.
I also took the time to read The Harlot this morning, too, and I agree. I'm glad I slept and thought. I understand why the letter came. I don't like the language but I know what they're trying to do, and who they're doing it for, and the reasons why. I'm not mad any more, still a little bruised, but I'll live. I can do something many of those athletes probably can't, and I'll do it well and for the rest of my life. They have a few years to shine, to be their absolute best, and I wish them all the luck I can, and hope, at the end of it all, that they're as proud of their accomplishments as I am of mine.
Really though... it'd be nice to knit like a sprinter... 100m in under 10 seconds? Could you imagine? They'd need a fire extinguisher to cool down the needles and put out any residual fires.
Oh and this post was written in two stints because I wanted to be sure I got everything down. There may be a supplemental post later, with pictures!
I know. You can hardly contain yourselves.
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