A friend of mine, Doc Patton, who was a part of that US men's 4X100m relay team that ended up getting disqualified writes a blog. He was the guy on the anchor leg who apparently touched the baton before entering the exchange zone therefore resulting in team USA's expulsion from the finals yesterday.
As I was reading his most recent post, following their disqualification, it occurred to me just how easy it is to criticize and chastise and belittle and point the fingers at what athletes should've and could've done in a particular situation. But having been the person who's been pointed at before, as we probably all have been, there is no disappointment or frustration worse than that which we feel ourselves. The armchair quarterbacks are heavy on the "how could he?" and "it's so easy, anyone could've done that" and very light on the empathy.
As he said, athletes are human, and therefore fallible and until one of us comes from a place of perfection then it's best not to point the finger so quickly. Yes, they made a mistake but who among us in our lives, our professions and careers hasn't? It just so happens that as an athlete, your blunders are often made in front of millions of people and who scrutinize and criticize mercilessly. We choose to put ourselves out there and yes we're professional but at the end of day, mistakes will happen and we, because our shoulders are broad and because of our innate ability to assess, regroup and be resilient, we get back up and as he said "we keep it moving"!! God bless u Doc! Those of us who were true fans of yours before, will continue to be. We know how talented you are and know that great things lie in wait for you.....
Click here to read his blog entry..
I gave my best...
14 years ago
