I am appalled by your Olympic coverage, i.e. “U.S. gymnasts settle for silver behind Romania.” Why is silver not good enough? Why are you telling us that our athletes are losers if they don’t get the gold?
Haven’t these young people worked hard enough just to get to the Olympics? Aren’t they our best? And why is it that the United States deserves to win all the gold medals in every sport?
I don’t get it. The picture of the American gymnasts who received the silver medal (Tribune, Aug. 18) does not show happiness or excitement or enthusiasm or pride. They are clearly made to feel like losers who disappointed their country. I think we should be proud of these young people and their accomplishments and adjust our attitudes.
Americans do not deserve to win only gold medals. The athletes of other countries train hard too. Why it is that we think our athletes are better than other countries?
Perhaps we are discouraging young people from competition who fear they might “embarrass” us if they don’t get the gold medal. Pride in one’s country is one thing. Feelings of entitlement are another.
