We are coming to the end of one sporting extravaganza out of London.
We have been blessed with numerous moments of drama, on and off, the arena of dreams. We have hailed the success in our nations; the medals that gather acclaim and signify a job well done. We have witnessed the globe of sport in a single city, on a singularly special occasion, at a moment in time, even as there is more to come.
It will not be long before the stadiums are silenced, the athletes move on, the spirit of this occasion becomes overtaken by another, and we look forward to another sporting dawn. Some would describe this as, Paralympics, time.
If I were to ask you to encapsulate your memory or moment of the Games, you quite naturally turn to national success. In a South African context, the narrative of Chad and his Dad, has captured, hearts and minds, as the joy of this young son’s achievement went global with the help of his old man, Dad, Bert.
For this scribe out of Aotearoa, there have been the moments of kiwi pride. Those times when our chests worked like a spinaker, just hoisted, with the wind now extending its borders, the full glory – Oh, what a feeling. If you are reading this from other lands, then likely, you will be able to add your own, when for a brief period, the world stage was your nation’s throne.
Nevertheless, as I peer through the mist of my late-night sporting viewing, my mind is moved onto another plane.
Whatever is left of the romantic ideals of the 5 interconnected rings, they are encapsulated each time he straps on his blades. You surely need no more an indication than this. There is only one who moves like this. Aesthetically, it is like witnessing a Marvel comic book character coming to life before your very eyes. This only happens in another’s moving picture. If this time is more than just your “feel good” vibe about going faster, higher, etc; the chasm that Pistorius crosses, warms these ideals over a set of coals that should never grow cold.
Here is why.
Simply put, the visual impact confounds and contorts our sense of normality, our sense of value, our content of success that can be as Hollywood away, from real life.
In a society that places much capital on containing the complete package, Pistorius is the weapon of mass destruction on a false idealism, even as an instruction of a greater reality. He is the paradoxical poke in the eye on our pursuit toward perfection. He must adhere to the rules of another’s game, just as he completes his pursuit in their sphere of sporting society. Yet, he is the ultimate rebel of success that is prone to keeping individuals like Pistorius, away on the outside, free from its claims.
He is both gifted and cursed. Normal and abnormal. Fast, yet when removed, slow. He is a human being that is doing, which makes his example Gold for everyone watching on from their lands of mediocrity, with a long list of why it hasn’t been so.
To be sure, there has been the science of his battle. In this context, there are those who have questioned whether he has an edge. This is not the place to debate the adequacies or the intricacies of the arguments, but it is axiomatic to say that wherever one lands, it is hard to reside at a place that fails to grasp the obstacles beneath, what should have been, his knees. When steroids are the source, it is about finding a solution for the insatiable pursuit of winning. The want. When Oscar Pistorius straps on his blades, he is only meeting the need; it begins with the living. This is not intended as a knock down argument, but as a crystalisation of the paradoxical pursuit toward sporting success.
His account has more levels than a board game. He captivates our consciousness. When he ran, the social media timelines moved at an even quicker rate. It is just as insane as watching an olympic boxer fighting with prosthetics below his elbows. We both empathise with what is missing and are blown away at what he can accomplish with what is left. Our senses are raised. We feel good.
Pistorius has not finished. He will run, win, and bring back Gold from London.
In a world looking for sporting icons, he is one that should be elevated. He doesn’t talk about his frailties, he lives with them for all to see, then rises above. He is both faithful to his calling and unfaithful to its restriction.
Four years of living and for some it will come down to seconds; split seconds.
Best you make the most of your time.
Rebel against your Restrictions like the Bladerunner!
What Say You?
Until Next Time
iamjonnyking
