Thoughts on London 2012

I’m back home after having a wonderful time in London. Boy, was it fun.

Some thoughts:

* It wasn’t traumatic for us that Silas didn’t win a medal, and I don’t think it was traumatic for him. Sure, he was disappointed, but not devastated. He’s experienced the agony of defeat, believe me. This wasn’t it. His dream was to make the Olympics, and he succeeded. (It helped that he rowed really well the last two days.)

* It really was wonderful for him (and us) to feel that tons of people were cheering for him. (If you sent him a message and didn’t get a response, it’s because he was hearing from so many.)

* The Brits we encountered seemed to be extremely proud to be hosting the Olympics and positively patriotic when it came to winning medals. They acted positively American!

* From everything I saw, the games are very well organized. The underground worked flawlessly, better than it does normally. (They must have put every last train on the tracks.) It wasn’t crowded. The buses and trains were lined up and there was no waiting.

* The weather was wonderful the first week. And London is a great place in all weathers!

Eighth in the World

Silas and Tom wrapped up their Olympic campaign with second place in the B final today. It was a good, close race. They just nipped Greece at the line. Afterwards I said to Silas, “To me, eighth in the world doesn’t sound that bad.” He agreed.

No Medals, but a great race

Silas came in fourth in his semi, which means he did not make the A final and won’t have a chance at a medal. It was disappointing, of course, but he and Tom rowed a strong race. Had they been in the other heat they would have placed second and gone on, judging by time.

Silas joined some of his fans for lunch afterwards and he seemed sober but content. I think it probably helped to see how proud we are of him and what a good time we are having cheering for him.

He will race one more time on Friday for the B final. Naturally he and Tom would like to win it.

Here is a picture of Silas and a small portion of his adoring fan club.

On to the Semis

We had a great time yesterday. First off, Silas and Tom made it through to the semis, through harrowing conditions and near disaster. Man, it was close!

Just as much fun was meeting friends before and after the race. Our party were all wearing bright red t-shirts that read SILAS’ CREW. These served as a magnet for Silas’ friends from Stanford, Cambridge and US Rowing. Popie was in heaven connecting all these people and names. Some we had not seen for a long time, and some we had never met. Silas came and joined us after the race and we had a Silas fest. Afterwards we went with our party of friends and family to eat a languorous lunch in the shadow ofd Windsor castle. Wow.

From various emails I have learned that NBC HAS shown Silas’ race and talked about him, but evidently it is very hard to know when he will appear. Good luck with that. We’ll be cheering from the stands. Silas is well aware that you all are backing him. I think he’s a little amazed, especially after years of rowing in obscurity. It’s great fun.

Next up, semis on Wednesday. You had better cheer loud because it’s hard to see how Silas and
Tom will make it to the A final, given how the races have gone so far. But, such wonderful things have happened before, so tune in!

Here we are with Silas after the race.

This is Tom, his parents, and us.

Olympic heat

Those of you who persevered with Internet streaming and 4 a.m. wake ups know that Silas’ first race was disappointing. He came in last of four boats in a close race for second–the Canadians were way ahead. You may not realize though that this is not the end. Monday morning at 10:20 London time he gets a second chance to move forward to the semis through something rowers call the repechage. So, another chance to lose sleep.

Naturally Silas was disappointed but he is not without hope for improved results.

For the many of you who have asked us to pass on your encouragement–he knows how many people are rooting for him. We have a decent contingent here, and he has heard from people all over, including friends in Abu Dhabi. It’s amazing! And it definitely means a lot to him.

The weather has been beautiful and the rowing events have been wonderful to watch. They had 25000 people in the stands and lining the 2k racecourse. Generally rowers race before crowds of hundreds, if it’s a really big event.

It’s evident that the Brits we have talked to are very proud to host the Olympics–and more than a little nervous that it all go well.

Oh, one question I got asked…. What is it about a boy with the golden ticket?

I’m told this is a line from a song in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. When Silas was at Cambridge his teammates decided it applied to him and would burst into, “I’ve got a golden ticket” when Silas entered a room. BBC picked it up and had Silas sing the line on TV leading up to the Boat Race. Apparently it won’t go away.

Rowing Schedule

For those who have asked whether they can see Silas row on TV, here’s the deal:

Silas will row three times:

July 28, 4:00 a.m. PST (that’s noon in London)–heats

August 1, 3:00 a.m. PST–semis

August 3, 2:20 PST–finals

If you want to get up in the middle of the night to see it streamed live on your computer, you have to go to NBCOlympics.com and sign up for the (free) privilege. It won’t work for just anybody: you have to have a TV cable package that includes NBC’s sports channel. (I don’t.)

Otherwise, there will be snippets of rowing shown on NBC TV, according to the schedule. Here are the times for the days when Silas is rowing:

July 28, 2:30-3:00 p.m. PST

August 1, 3:45-4:00 p.m. PST

August 3, 9:30-9:45 a.m., 2:45-3:30 p.m. PST (Since this day is his final, it’s probably your best chance to see him on TV.)

What’s Good About the Olympics

Thursday we are headed for London to see my son Silas row the pair for the US. I’m really excited, mostly for reasons having to do with seeing his dream come true. If he had qualified for the world Twiddlywinks championship I assume I would feel similar parental pride.

But there’s also something about the Olympics.

What’s not to like?

–the hype

–the commercialism. (Did you know you can’t make a t-shirt with the Olympic rings? They are too important a source of revenue.)

–the nationalism. I’m as patriotic as the next guy, but I think the Olympics are at their best when we come to admire an athlete who excels despite the fact he’s not an American. Usain Bolt is a great example.

Does it really matter whether China wins more medals than we do? Not to me.

What’s good about the Olympics is that athletes who ordinarily work in utter obscurity gain, for a fleeing moment, worldwide attention. If I had my way they would eliminate basketball, soccer and cycling, which have their own world-focused events. Swimming and track, on the other hand, are only really feted every four years. And other sports–like rowing–are even more obscure.

I can tell you from personal observation that these athletes work like dogs, in obscurity, in poverty, in order to compete. Preparing for the Olympics is a grueling full-time job with a stipend equal to a part-time job at McDonalds. Most of these athletes have spent years preparing. Most of them don’t make it. The Olympics is the one and only time when the world notices those who do.

You can watch basketball any day. Instead, follow a sport you don’t get to see, with athletes you never heard of. That’s what’s good about the Olympics.

Praying for Miracles

My son Silas, who is trying to make the Olympic rowing team, sustained a rib injury last week. For rowers this is an exceptionally bad problem, because rib injuries are very slow to heal. He’s dedicated four years of his life to this quest, and it’s awful to think of his losing it all because of an ill-timed injury.

My inclination is to pray for miraculous healing. I believe God can fix this problem in a second, if he wants to. And I want him to, very much! However, that prayer raises questions for me. What would make God want to heal this and not that? Why would he heal Silas’ rib cage and not my friend Karen’s knee? Or my friend Chris’s cancer?

A sports injury intensifies these questions. If Silas is healed and able to row in the Olympics, he will push aside some equally hard-working athlete. And why, really, should God care who goes to the Olympics? It’s only a game.

My only answer is that I care about it. I want Silas to heal and to be able to compete. Is that good enough?

In writing my book Miracles (coming in July) I was struck by the thought that we pray for miracles whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is no sickness, no pain. Our bodies will work perfectly there. So even Presbyterians like me pray regularly for miracles, because we pray that what is true in heaven would be made true on earth.

God ultimately wants Silas’s body—all our bodies—to work perfectly, as they were designed to work. Praying for his ribs to heal is aligning ourselves with what we know God wants.

But is it that simple? Is praying for a miracle always simply asking that God’s kingdom come? The answer is, “No!” At least one Old Testament miracle—asked for and received–is clearly labeled,  “Not God’s Will,” and “Do Not Repeat—Ever!”

That is the incident of Massah, when the thirsty Israelites demanded that God provide them with water. (Exodus 17:1-7) God acceded to their demands. Moses struck the rock and water came out. However, this place of miracle became a byword for quarreling with God. Psalm 95 strongly warns against similar behavior, as does Deuteronomy 6:16, which Jesus quoted when he was tempted by Satan. “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Luke 4:12)

God surely wanted to provide water for his people at Massah. He had not brought them there to let them die. But he had his own time, and his own ways. We will never know what those were, because the Israelites were so keen to have him meet their needs in the way they expected him to, no matter what.

Thus I pray for a miracle—that Silas would be instantly healed. But I try to tune my mind to be more interested in seeing God’s kingdom come, than in seeing it come the way I envision it.

So far, Silas has not been instantly healed. A physical therapist and a chiropractor have helped him, and there’s hope he’ll get well fast enough to be able to compete. His coach’s response has been most encouraging. Contrary to all expectations, he was willing to give Silas time off to heal. That seemed to have some miraculous qualities, at least to Silas!

Observing Silas deal with this, I’ve seen signs of an awakening spirit. That encourages me, as an answer to my deepest prayers. One way or another, may God’s kingdom come!