Time to Pass Olympic Torch to Paralympics
Now that the Olympics are over, why isn’t there any mention of the Paralympics? Do you realize what an opportunity NBC has to be the first major network to cover a sporting event that (if not equal to) is right up there with its cousin, “the Olympics”? One thing is for sure, if you think the personal stories of the Olympians are fascinating, I guarantee you some of the stories of these Paralympians are unbelievable and will absolutely amaze anyone who believes in the human spirit. After all, everyone likes to hear about people overcoming incredible odds. Well, to see these athletes competing like they do (despite their obstacles) will inspire anybody! My final point is: If You Show It – They Will Watch! Nothing surprises people anymore, so why not take a chance? The Paralympics is huge in England and is quite the spectacle. The time is right (now) for America to enjoy the festivities.
posted by cPaul @
Friday, March 03, 2006
5:51 PM E-mail this 
3Comments:
At March 03, 2006 6:37 PM,
cPaul said…
By the way, don't get me wrong. Whether the Paralympic Athletes have to overcome many obstacles or not, the Paralympics are extremely competitive as well as entertaining.
At March 06, 2006 12:41 AM,
Martin said…
Paul, I might begin to think that you want people to watch the Paralympics ;)
I agree that the Paralympics, particularly the paralympians themselves provide for incredibly compelling viewing. The stories and the triumphs are amazing. There are misperceptions, however, that stand in the way of the Paralympics achieving mass appeal:
• people mistake the Paralympics for the Special Olympics,
• it's difficult to feel respect while feeling sympathy at the same time,
• people don't relate to the Paralympians because they are different,
• people don't want to be reminded of their mortality.
The documentary, Murderball goes a long way toward debunking most of those, particularly the first. I don't think those Paralympians meant any disrespect to the Special Olympics when they rightfully said, "we're in this to win a gold medal, not to get a hug". They are justifiably bitter that people don't make the distinction. They compete on a level as high if not higher than the able-bodied olympians. If you haven't seen Murderball, rent, or better yet, buy it now.
Murderball also debunks the sympathy angle. These guys have hot girlfriends and are cool. If anyone feels sympathy for them, it's their own problem. Unfortunately, much of the programming about PWDs exploits the sympathetic nature of their situation. Extreme Makeover, Home Edition does that. It's heartwarming and it's valuable work, but it can't work for competitive sports. The new show Miracle Workers takes a similar sympathetic angle which has received some bad reviews, but I'll wait and see.
It doesn't do quite so well with the third problem. Even though the overall story is very compelling with the requisite fierce competition and clashes of egos, it's still difficult to relate to competing in a wheelchair when so few people do it. Clearly, there are fewer one-legged skiers than two legged. How can able-bodied people relate? The olympics measure the performance of an athlete against every other able-bodied person in the world as well as measuring it against a large field of comparable athletes.
I can't help but wonder if this problem of perception could be solved by getting able bodied athletes to help with the promotion. Would it be too gimmicky to have a team of able-bodied rugby players compete in wheelchairs against the "Murderball" players? Would it be possible for a two legged skier to compete against the one-legged skiers by tying his legs together? Would one-legged skiers welcome such an obvious promotional stunt?
As as far as reminding people of their mortality goes the word "Paralympics" itself does as much as anything. There is an obvious and perhaps even necessary separation built into that word. Could Paralympic athletes ever compete directly in the Olympics without a separate event? Is there a better word that could eliminate the "paralyzed" connotations without being a ridiculous euphemism?
Is the Paralympics only for People with Disabilities and their friends and family, or can it find a larger audience?The larger audience seems to be more likely to watch documentaries about the Paralympics than the Paralympics themselves. Since they feel like outsiders, documentaries explain a foreign world to them.
It doesn't have to be that way though. I'm not sure what kind of numbers Murderball did or what kind of ratings the Paralympics get, but there is no reason to believe that they couldn't be better and to discuss how to make it so. Paul is right to believe that there is a a potential larger audience out there.
At March 07, 2006 6:37 PM,
cPaul said…
I believe the Paralympic athletes compete on a very high level. In terms of promotion, I think it would be incredible if some of the Olympic athletes were to compete with the Paralympic athletes as an exhibition. From what I have heard, the IOC would probably frown on any such exhibition simply because they don't believe the Paralympics are on an equal level as the Olympics. The Paralympics doesn't receive as much attention, nor does it get as much funding as the Olympics.
As far as people not being able to relate to the Paralympians, I think that people only need to witness what these athletes are able to do. I believe as they watch that it won't take long before they appreciate these athletes’ dedication to sport and realize how competitive these Games actually are. I know for myself I was amazed when I saw the Paralympic Games for the first time. My respect for them came rather quickly. All that is needed here is a major network to take the lead by putting aside a block of time between March 10 and March 19. In Great Britain, The Paralympics is a national phenomenon and is shown on national TV. Any fear that people won’t watch will be put to rest in no time at all.
Martin mentions that Paralympians are insulted that people make the mistake of thinking that the Paralympics are on the same level as the Special Olympics. If you know anything about the two venues, you would understand that the Special Olympics deals with people who have special mental abilities and is not in the same category (in terms of competition) as the Olympics or the Paralympics. What’s great is that the movie, ”Murderball” really does help to debunk many of the stereotypes people have about people with disabilities as well as making the distinction between the two events. I know that Murderball didn’t do very well in the box office, however, anybody that saw it walked away with a new understanding. As Martin said, these guys had hot girlfriends, were cool and basically had regular lives with regular problems. If you haven’t seen it already, do rent it or buy it (you can click on “buy it”) in Martin’s comment above.
By the way, it is possible to watch the Paralympics this year on the Internet. On March 10th, all you have to do is go to www.Paralympicsport.TV.com which will be showing over 100 hours of coverage. Be sure to tell all your friends. We need to bombard that Web address so that we can show how much interest people have in the Paralympics. Although I wish all the athletes well, I cannot help but say, “Let’s go USA”!
Martin, I know that people don't want to be reminded of their mortality, however, the Paralympic athletes are competing at such a high level, just watching will probably obliterate any idea that we will surely die one day. I would even say that these Paralympians show that anyone, disabled or not, can overcome any odds not only with their performances, but by their incredible personal stories.
Let me just conclude by saying, "Watch the Paralympics and I guarantee any thoughts of sympathy will fly right out the window". Watch and see!
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