The last few blog posts we’ve written have been sobering, if not downright depressing.  So today we’ll look for a little inspiration, albeit in a situation that didn’t seem all that inspiring at first.

You might be familiar with this story as it’s often revisited during Olympic years, but in 1992, Derek Redmond of Britain was a favorite to make the medal stand in the 400 meters.  In a semifinal heat, his hamstring gave out and he went down.  At that point Redmond’s dreams of Olympic greatness seemingly died.

Whether you know the story or not, I would encourage you to watch this video before you continue reading.  It’s 2 1/2 minutes long.  And pay particular attention to the photographer who appears right around the 30 second mark of the video.

As you either remember or just watched, Derek Redmond did not stay down on the track.  He was going to finish the race, even if he had to hobble around the track on one leg.  As he struggled to make his way around the last curve, his father Jim pushed his way past security and onto the track.  He told his son, “we’re going to finish this together.”

I’ve seen this video dozens of times and I still can’t hardly get through it without something stirring inside me.  And what I’m reminded of is that it’s moments like these that really make sports what they are.  We all love to win.  We love to compete and come out on top.  I’ve had a chance to be a part of a few championship teams at the youth and high school levels, and winning is an absolute blast.  And yet, how many of us know who won the gold medal in the 400 in the ’92 Olympics?  I had to look it up myself.

There’s nothing wrong with winning.  Winning is great and it’s usually a whole lot of fun.  But we would do well to realize what that photographer in the video realized as he switched cameras to snap photos of a man who was 200 meters behind the leaders of his race.  The real story in sports, the real meaning, what gives sports the power that it has in our lives comes from what it makes us feel and what it can help us become.  Sports are powerful and beautiful mostly because of what we can learn about ourselves and our fellow human beings in the process of competing athletically.

If winning was all that mattered, why does that story and video of a man who finished dead last still touch our hearts 21 years after the fact?