I can’t say that I am a sports person. I play softball and I’ll watch baseball when it’s on at the local sports-themed restaurant, but I can’t tell you who the players are or recite their stats.
There are plenty of sports I don’t get either: football tops the list and boxing is on it. I also don’t understand any extreme fascination with college sports. Please don’t be offended. Remember, I am obsessed with CBS first responder shows and Air Supply, so consider the source.
There is one time, however, that I become a sports fan and vehemently choose sides. I must watch the championships of all major sporting events. Maybe it’s the nachos and chicken wings, but I love watching the best of the best battle it out on the fields and courts. I pick a team and root for them like I was born in their city and we are best friends. It doesn’t hurt that they throw in some great commercials, or used to anyway.
Imagine my excitement that the Olympics are here, and the Summer Olympics to boot. Twenty days of extreme talent all over the world vying for the podium and a chance to wear bling, as the kids used to say. I really do love the Olympics. The spectacle of it all and the adrenaline rush are often unmatched. I’ve been around long enough to have had the privilege of seeing Mary Lou Retton at her best, watching the miracle hockey team win in 1980 and being amazed as a wounded Kerri Strug hobbled her way to the vault, carrying her team to gold. It was all something of a miracle.
The 2024 Olympics is not disappointing us either. The comeback story of gymnast Suni Lee fighting through kidney disease to having a standout qualifying performance, and self-proclaimed nerd Stephen Nedoroscik’s expertise on the pommel horse that took the U.S. men’s gymnastic team to medal for the first time in 16 years. Truly inspired.
There are a record 191 LGBTQ+ athletes in the 2024 summer Olympic games. The U.S. leads all nations with 28 out athletes competing.
Aside from the competition, I love to watch the opening ceremonies. It’s fascinating to me to see what each country highlights as a representation of its culture and vision of the games.
This year we witnessed as Celine Dion had somewhat of an emotional comeback as she performed from the Eiffel Tower in the pouring rain, as if the heavens were so moved the gods wept. It was powerful.
With all of this amazing talent and inspiration, what could possibly go wrong? The religious right. Before I go any further, please understand that I am not saying the religious, or people of faith. I am referring to the wing of religion that uses religion as a political tool to manipulate people of faith and control them politically.
The latest form of this manipulation came as a result of a scene from the Olympic opening ceremonies in which a Feast of Dionysus was artistically displayed. The religious right went into an uproar stating it was mocking The Last Supper and labeled it blasphemy. To that I say, it’s not all about you. Perhaps if you spent more time reading books and not banning them you might have learned something about other cultures. Second, you might ask yourself why a pagan festival looks a lot like your coveted religious imagery. Spoiler, the pagan festival came first.
It reminds me of the outrage of kneeling during the National Anthem as some sort of dig on the American Flag when every Fourth of July you can wipe your mustard-stained lips with a napkin donning the American flag or see American Flag thongs riding up the backside of countless beachgoers. It’s manufactured outrage and it needs to stop.
To those so furious and uneducated you are wrong about the Olympic ceremony, you are wrong about drag queens, you are wrong about gender-affirming care and you are wrong about women’s health care. At a time when we should be banding together to celebrate, you have made it ugly.
As Watermark approaches its 30th anniversary issue, we take a look back at 2021. Also in this issue, we check in with local congressional candidates and where they stand on important LGBTQ+ issues.
We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.
