| My opinion about Morocco in Beijing 2008 |
| ZAK ETTAMYMY | ||||
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As many others, I have been consumed with the Beijing Olympics this summer, and who can take his eyes of the screen when Michael Phelps single handedly took 7 gold medals and 6 world records and has his eye on the 8th gold medal with an unprecedented 15 gold medals around his neck especially if we consider the fact that he is only 23 years old?. The American patriotism and love for the game make Phelps seems less of a hero and more of a warrior doing his duty of defending the colors of America in the land of the dragon warriors, the sole adversaries capable of challenging the supremacy of the USA, China. I watched with amazement the beach volley ball team of the US beating every single team on their way to Gold, the perfection of the Chinese divers as they enter the water with grace and force, the American Basketball team playing their superior game against teams with one goal, losing against the Americans by the lowest score possible. As I watched the Olympics and the athletes competing for their personal or patriotic glory; sometimes they thank god other times they thank their family members, as I watch these scenes something else catches my eye, the beauty of the country side of Beijing, the monumental development this country has seen, the perfection of their organization and the eye catching sports centers and stadiums they have built. I was also amazed by the unparalleled camera presence in every scene whether it is underwater or in the sky. Then I breath deep and I put all this excitement to rest and I ponder about the Moroccan chances in these games, I started to worry because of their complete absence in the first weeks of the games. As I am writing this articles I took a quick look at the medal count, always China and USA far ahead followed by the usually herd “Australia, Japan, South Korea and Russia” but then I scroll down to the bottom of the list hoping to see a medal for Morocco, any medal, Silver or Bronze… Nothing. As I scroll down the list, I read the name of countries with much less notoriety in sports than Morocco, Algeria, Mongolia, Togo, Lithuania “a country of about 3 million“ , Tajikistan “a landlocked country with 7 million population” Not one Moroccan Athlete won so far a single medal, our Boxers are falling like leaves in an autumn night as is the case for our sports in general. We were so thrilled by Guerrouj performance in 2004 Athens, this performance and drive is not so unique, Phelps proved to us that one man, alone, can get more gold than an entire set of federations in a country of 35 million. Nawal won 1 gold, Said Aouita won 1 Gold and 1 bronze, Guerrouj won 2 gold, Bouteib 1 gold and Skah 1 gold “if my memory serves me right” that is 6 gold in 13 participations with many disciplines “Boxing, Track and Field, Judo, Wrestling, Soccer etc..” not even half of what 1 man achieved in 2 games and 1 discipline. If this and losing to Tunisia in African cup final in 2004 and losing our spot in world cup to Tunisia in 2006 are not the signs that our sports are in deep trouble I don’t know what else will make understand the dire strait we are facing. A nation without art and sports is an ill society. We are a country of sun and beaches, we love to move and play and we have millions of young men and women…what else is left? a government that cares about this youth, believe me we can have our Phelps too. Zak Ettamymy
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