Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Hello Martin,
I can’t wait to talk about the exceptional athletic performances and to experience the emotions that make us live the most real of reality shows. But this time my “finally” takes on a completely different connotation. Is it a deliverance that I feel? The same relief that an athlete experiences when he offers the performance of his life at the Olympic Games? Well, I’m exaggerating a bit, because there’s nothing like the feeling of winning the Olympics, but for all the reasons we know, I feared for these athletes that the Games would simply not take place. . Yes, I hear those who say that is exactly what should have happened. It’s true that if you put the pandemic, human rights abuses, CIO corruption and environmental impact in a blender, it doesn’t make a very healthy smoothie, let’s say.
So as I said, finally! Or is it a phew? As you see, I’m confused, I’m happy and frustrated at the same time, my Olympian heart is bleeding, but at the same time there is nothing more beautiful and grandiose for me than an Olympic competition. What do you think ? Is it normal, what I feel? You who are an expert in marketing and brand image, will the Olympic movement one day be able to restore its image?
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Ni Hao, Dominick! I practice my Mandarin, but don’t expect more from me than this basic greeting. That’s all I know about this language that I love to hear so much.
Your confusion about the Games is also mine. On the one hand, I look forward to being able to cheer on our Canadian athletes. There are so many divisions in the country. This is an opportunity to be united and support the same things for two weeks. But on the other hand, I can’t ignore the dark side of the Games. None of the Olympic Games host countries are perfect. China, with its government’s disregard for human rights, is particularly flawed. But the government and the citizens are two very different things and I know that the Chinese – the volunteers and employees of the Olympic Village – will show impeccable hospitality. It reassures me. I know our athletes will be well received.
On the IOC website, we can read this: “The three values of Olympism are excellence, friendship and respect. I believe in it because the athletes are the perfect ambassadors. But does the institution still deserve its athletes?
The true image of the Games is created by a series of great moments and great emotions. For me, the unbeatable remains that of Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996. Ali was weakened by Parkinson’s disease, but still the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). It was a moment that transcended the sport. And you, Dominick? What is your favorite Olympic moment?
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You do well Martine to remind me that we must make the difference between a people and its government. We tend to put everyone in the same boat and forget about those amazing people in the field who carry out their tasks, no matter how small, with passion and pride. It’s true that behind their sort of anti-COVID-19 spacesuit, it’s hard to see their smile, but the athletes and coaches I’ve contacted all say that the volunteers are extraordinarily kind. Indeed, the values of Olympism always seem to be well followed in the field, as much by the athletes as by the volunteers. The problem is on the second floor, as they say. They are still quite vague, these three values, perhaps the time has come to add “transparency or honesty”.
Let’s get back to the beauty of the Games, those great moments of emotion that unite us, as you put it so well. Those moments when we remember exactly where we were. I’m going to skip over the obvious of my favorite Olympic moments coaching Jennifer Heil and Alexandre Bilodeau to maybe surprise you. A bit like the magazine Time sometimes surprises us with his personality of the year which did not necessarily have a positive impact on the world, for me the moment that marked me the most deeply was Ben Johnson’s race in 1988. Before I stone, know that I am someone who always speaks very strongly against doping in sport, but I was only 14 years old and I can still see myself jumping on the couch at a friend’s house in Cap-Rouge.
I can’t wait to see what will transcend the sport in Beijing. Unfortunately, without spectators, it becomes a bit like a film without a soundtrack. That being said, we still had some great moments in Tokyo this summer and there will be many more in Beijing. By the way, what sport or athlete are you going to watch no matter what time of day or night?
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Ciao Dominick,
I’ve switched to Italian, but again, don’t ask me more than this greeting. And then stone yourself for Ben Johnson? Never ! I longed for him to beat Carl Lewis – an athlete allergic to modesty and the perfect image of braggadocio (it’s not Italian, but it’s ok!). Before the doping scandal ruined our celebrations, we had experienced a kind of patriotism, as I had seen Americans build and celebrate many times. 1988 was the end of the Reagan years and few politicians have been able to turn a nation’s pride and achievement into a marketable commodity as well as Reagan did.
You asked me what sport or athlete I was looking forward to seeing. I miss Alberto Tomba and he made me a big fan of ski events. That’s no small thing for a girl who excels at chalet skiing (and much less so at skiing). I can’t wait to see Richardson Viano, the alpine skier from Haiti and the snowboarder Chloe Kim. She was on the frontispiece of the magazine Time, last week. Kim, who is 21, is American, but she charms and influences far beyond the United States. Brands have taken notice. That it is associated with a brand like Nike is not surprising. But Chloe Kim has also made less conventional partnerships, including one with a luxury watchmaker and another with SKIMS, Kim Kardashian’s intimate apparel and nightwear brand – which is also the official underwear brand of Kim Kardashian. the American team. It is an agreement that recalls the importance of sport in popular culture.
Chloe Kim is a new kind of athlete. She knows she is more than her sport, more than her profession. She understands its value and knows how to put it to use. She wants her slice of the really big cake she helped make. Even if she had to stop practicing her sport tomorrow, she could continue to make a living from it. I love this generation.
You who have been to the Games and who understand its essence so well, does this commodification of athletes sadden you?
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On the contrary, I would like even more! The problem is that aside from superstars like Chloe Kim, athletes have very few opportunities to sell their image. The Olympics are their only real commercial showcase, but unfortunately, to participate in them, the athlete practically has to sign at the bottom of the page and give up their own Olympic image forever. Imagine if this Haitian skier could wear the colors of a sponsor during the Games in order to monetize his adventure, or even raise money to help people in his native country in need! Really, the Olympic revenue sharing model needs to be reviewed and we should think about the main players, the athletes. Difficult to protest against the merchant of dreams, so nothing moves. Well, I don’t want to bore you with these stories that resurface at every Games, but this control of the gods of Olympus always irritates me a little, as you can see, and as we find ourselves in a country where you shouldn’t be, it’s hard to ignore it all. Moreover at the time of writing to you, we learn that the Chinese president will receive Vladimir Putin for dinner the very day of the opening ceremony. A strong image which well represents the use of the Olympic emblem for the benefit of the dictatorship. Phew, we are far from the freedom of the markets and the authorization to the athletes to monetize their Olympic experience.
Despite everything, I remain an optimistic realist who sincerely believes that the athletes will come and make us forget all that, at least for two weeks. That’s the magic of the Games! More than ever, they deserve all our respect, admiration and appreciation, because they are extraordinary Canadian ambassadors!
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Hello Dominick,
maybe you read Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever, the book by journalist Jon Wertheim? It’s a fascinating read that explains, in particular, how the business model of the Games changed in Los Angeles in 1984. It was the year when the big brands understood the possibilities of profitability of the Olympic Games.
In my eyes, one of the biggest stories in sports in 2021 was the adoption of the NIL policy (Name, Image and Likeness) in college sports in the United States. It gives athletes the right to benefit from their name and their image. So for the first time, these academics can sign agreements with brands, even before entering the professional market. This is a major shift in ideology. You were talking about revenue sharing; the NIL policy perfectly embodies this principle. Like you, I want it to become accessible to Olympic athletes.
In your missive, you used the term “protest”. The day before yesterday, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, sent a message to American athletes: no demonstrations at the Games, to avoid reprisals from the Chinese government. The parenthesis of his message is therefore: we know that the fundamental right of freedom of expression is not permitted there, but we are sending you anyway. This is an unusual position for Mme Pelosi, who is normally all fights.
This kind of complacency, also embraced by the IOC, will continue to have repercussions. You asked me in your first missive if the Games could restore their image. Yes, if we allow athletes to express themselves without hindrance. Even non-medalists have a podium and to not allow them to use it freely is to misunderstand the dominant generation of the athletic community. A generation that, in addition to knowing its worth, values empathy, social justice and fairness. All of this is not a departure from the values of Olympism and does not have to be compromised during the Games, on the contrary!
I can’t wait to see the sequel. Let the games begin !