Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Shawn Ford won the men’s 200-meter, which was the fifth gold medal won by the U.S. track and field team that day.
On the fifth day, the U.S. track and field team won four medals in a single day. This day was even better, as they secured five.
This was the U.S. track and field team’s 18th gold medal at this Olympics. They had already broken the record for the number of track and field gold medals won by the United States.
Between the 1980s and the 1990s was the best time for the U.S. track and field team.
In 1984, a total of 19 countries and regions did not participate in the Los Angeles Olympics due to the boycott of the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union and Germany were among those that did not participate. This made the U.S. a dominant team at that Olympics and the home team won 16 gold medals in track and field events.
At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, there was a drop in the number of U.S. gold medals as the Soviet bloc participated in the Olympics. However, the U.S. track and field team still won 13 gold medals in track and field.
At the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, the U.S. track and field team won 12 gold medals. In the subsequent Olympics, the team could win about 10 gold medals each time.
Now, the US team had already won 18 gold medals in track and field, a record for the US team, and the events were not over yet.
The busiest man that night was Frey, the COO of the U.S. Track and Field Association. He was constantly on the phone and made promises to one sponsor after another. He worked until morning without a rest, but he never tired.
The next morning, a headline appeared on the front page of most newspapers in the U.S.: “How the Best U.S. Track and Field Team Came to Be!”
Eighteen gold medals was the team’s new record, so it was fair to call them the best U.S. track and field team. Before the Olympics began, no one thought highly of the team. The media called them the worst team ever.
Eight days had passed and the U.S. team had completely changed. It went from being the worst team ever to the best team ever.
The recent performance-enhancing drug scandal was fading from the public’s conscience. Ordinary people are always forgetful. When they saw America’s good performance at the Olympics, no one paid attention to their past missteps.
Dai Li, the head coach of the U.S. team, was also in the spotlight
It was controversial when Dai Li first took over as head coach of the U.S. team. As a non-American coach, no one thought highly of Dai Li at that time. However, Dai Li trained the best U.S. team ever, so everyone’s attitude towards him changed radically.
The original questions and criticisms about Dai Li were gone. On the contrary, he now got all kinds of flattery.
Just as Dai Li put it, nationality and race don’t matter at all in the face of gold medals. The glory of honor will overshadow everything.
People get used to judging a person by his success or failure. This is true in competitive sports; the one wins is the hero.
Although the Olympic spirit of solidarity and fraternity was chanted at each Olympics and although the phrase “friendship first, competition second” was often mentioned, none of the athletes participated in the Olympics just with the aim of promoting friendship. If they really wanted to promote friendship, a meal at a restaurant or a drink at a bar would be far more effective than a fierce competition.
…
James was a well-known sports commentator. He did free-lance work with many different media outlets.
Right now, James was sitting at his computer and watching the Olympics.
The phone rang and James saw it was a call from the editor of a sports magazine. Sports magazines sold well in the United States, and James had worked with this magazine before.
James didn’t hesitate at all, so he muted the TV and answered the mobile phone.
“Hello, Mr. Julian. This is James speaking, I’m so glad to hear from you,” said James.
“James, are you free today? I need your manuscripts and I need them today,” Julian, the magazine’s editor, said.
When James heard that Julian wanted his manuscripts, he was instantly refreshed because he knew he could make money. He said immediately, “Mr. Julian, of course I’m free today. If you want, I can work for you all day. What kind of manuscripts do you need?”
“I need articles about the head coach of the U.S. track and field team, Dai Li,” Julian replied.
“That Chinese coach again,? I’ve written about him before, should I write the same things?” James asked immediately.
A month ago, James published several articles questioning Dai Li’s coaching ability and his criteria for selecting athletes. James also concluded that the U.S. team would fail under Dai Li. Two of these articles were published in this sports magazine.
James’ conclusion was wrong. Julian said, “Mr. James, didn’t you pay attention to the news this morning? This U.S. track and field team has been named the best team in American history. Our track and field team has won 18 gold medals and they’re expected to win more. Readers want to hear the good news, so we can’t belittle the head coach who leads his team to consistent wins!”
“Well, Mr. Julian, what do you mean?” James asked.
“We’re going to sing his praises! You need to praise him, it should be quite easy for you,” Julian said.
“But I just published some articles criticizing him a month ago. Two of them were published in your magazine,” said James.
“So what? Everything is changing. We are a sports magazine, so we write what readers love to read. A month ago, readers wanted to hear criticism of Dai Li, so we criticized him. Now, readers want good news. They want to see a winner, so we are going to show them Dai Li is one.” Julian paused before saying, “Mr. James, you have to understand that our magazines sell well only if we publish what the readers want to read. In order for us to pay you, we need the magazines to sell well.”
“I see.,” James reluctantly agreed.
Being a professional sports commentator, James still wanted to be able to give his professional opinion without being interfered with, rather than acting like a buffoon. F with reality, he had to make compromises.
“You want me to compliment Dai Li? It’s OK, I will do as you want. I will describe the Chinese coach as the world’s top coach!”
James opened his computer indignantly, thought for a while and finally decided his title:
“Dai Li saved U.S. Track and Field!”