Focus on Lifestyle & Entertainment
Aug 7 2008
Written by Will Mandeville, Scottsdale, AZ
BLURs in Beijing
As the world readies for the “official” start of the Beijing Olympics, the role that diversity and culture can and do play in organized sports, and vice-versa, comes into particular focus.
We are hopeful, though not holding our breath, that our televised coverage of the Olympics here in the U.S. lives up to the promise of truly international competition. There is no other athletic stage which has the potential to celebrate culture, and the blurring of the lines between, to the degree that the Olympics can and should.
While my son and I watched the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team on Wednesday night (PST) in their first match against Norway, a surprising upset win for Norway, we were consistently drawn in by the tenacity and toughness of one of the U.S. strikers, Natasha Kai.
The spirit of The Olympic Games is all about embracing, celebrating and learning about the world’s cultures.
This was not one of her better games, but her passion for and enjoyment of the game came through loud and clear regardless. This may be a trait of the women’s team in general, but Kai’s individual passion is notable none-the-less.
It’s hard to miss Natasha Kai if you watch any of the women’s games. She’s the heavily tattooed (19 to be exact) one putting constant pressure on opposing goalies.
In addition to her tattoos, Kai is compelling for the fact that she’s the first Hawaiian to play for the National Team, and she’s a BLUR. Her background is Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Caucasian. Not only is she a cultural BLUR, but she’s also a multi-sport BLUR.
She continues to follow one of her passions, surfing, but was also regarded as a top female high school athlete in Hawaii, lettering in soccer, track, volleyball, basketball and cross country.
And back to her toughness…..
Every time I’ve watched Kai play, her approach to the game never fails to bring her into bone-rattling contact that would shake any athlete to the core. She’s not afraid of this and is quick to get up, brush herself off, and move on to pursue her next touch of the ball.
There’s not a lot of complaining and a healthy dose of desire and good sportsmanship. Perhaps these are vestiges of her large family and competing all of her life. Perhaps they are a positive result of having grown up in one of the more diverse places, per capita, on earth.
We think Natasha Kai is a strong spirit to highlight as many of the world’s cultures meet to celebrate the positive characteristics that this level of international competition bring to the surface.
During the next three weeks we look forward to seeing people of many cultures and from many countries bring out the best of eachother. While there are sure to be the requisite troughs brought on by the media’s need to focus on and find the “story” (which is often in the controversy), to bring politics into sport (which seems hard for all to resist in China), and the unfortunate pressure for athletes to succeed at all costs, the spirit of The Games is all about embracing, celebrating and learning about the world’s cultures.
As the world readies for the “official” start of the Beijing Olympics, the role that diversity and culture can and do play in organized sports, and vice-versa, comes into particular focus.
We are hopeful, though not holding our breath, that our televised coverage of the Olympics here in the U.S. lives up to the promise of truly international competition. There is no other athletic stage which has the potential to celebrate culture, and the blurring of the lines between, to the degree that the Olympics can and should.
While my son and I watched the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team on Wednesday night (PST) in their first match against Norway, a surprising upset win for Norway, we were consistently drawn in by the tenacity and toughness of one of the U.S. strikers, Natasha Kai.
The spirit of The Olympic Games is all about embracing, celebrating and learning about the world’s cultures.
This was not one of her better games, but her passion for and enjoyment of the game came through loud and clear regardless. This may be a trait of the women’s team in general, but Kai’s individual passion is notable none-the-less.
It’s hard to miss Natasha Kai if you watch any of the women’s games. She’s the heavily tattooed (19 to be exact) one putting constant pressure on opposing goalies.
In addition to her tattoos, Kai is compelling for the fact that she’s the first Hawaiian to play for the National Team, and she’s a BLUR. Her background is Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Caucasian. Not only is she a cultural BLUR, but she’s also a multi-sport BLUR.
She continues to follow one of her passions, surfing, but was also regarded as a top female high school athlete in Hawaii, lettering in soccer, track, volleyball, basketball and cross country.
And back to her toughness…..
Every time I’ve watched Kai play, her approach to the game never fails to bring her into bone-rattling contact that would shake any athlete to the core. She’s not afraid of this and is quick to get up, brush herself off, and move on to pursue her next touch of the ball.
There’s not a lot of complaining and a healthy dose of desire and good sportsmanship. Perhaps these are vestiges of her large family and competing all of her life. Perhaps they are a positive result of having grown up in one of the more diverse places, per capita, on earth.
We think Natasha Kai is a strong spirit to highlight as many of the world’s cultures meet to celebrate the positive characteristics that this level of international competition bring to the surface.
During the next three weeks we look forward to seeing people of many cultures and from many countries bring out the best of eachother. While there are sure to be the requisite troughs brought on by the media’s need to focus on and find the “story” (which is often in the controversy), to bring politics into sport (which seems hard for all to resist in China), and the unfortunate pressure for athletes to succeed at all costs, the spirit of The Games is all about embracing, celebrating and learning about the world’s cultures.
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2 Comments
Aug 8 2008
Written by Marji Ranes, Pauma Valley, CA
Thanks for bring Natasha to my attention. I knew nothing about her!! I hope Blur is able to track more Olympic BLURs over the next three weeks. And wouldn’t it be great to get THEIR perspective when they return from China?!
Aug 9 2008
Written by Bella, Providence, RI
I just finished watching Norway beat New Zealand and was thinking how great it is to see a small country like New Zealand playing so well on an international stage like this. That’s the best part of the Olympics, seeing some of the smaller nations compete, and some of the more obscure sports.....