This Master Symbol of the Olympic Rings is synonymous with the Olympics themselves. Thomas Bach, the current president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) referred to “unity in diversity” in his candidate manifesto, comparing all of the parts of the Olympics which come together to those of a symphony (Bach). For about two weeks every two years, the world takes on a kind of global village, where the IOC dominates the much of the world’s social order, media, and political stories (Baran & Davis, 2012). We celebrate this coming together of nations, cultures, and languages as we watch each country’s athletes compete through sport. 1992, for example, was the first time Germany sent a unified team to the Olympics since 1964 (Wikipedia). It was a moment the world celebrated along with them. The opening ceremonies, which is a kind of ritual ceremony with the Olympic Rings at its center, celebrates the coming together of nations and cultures. In the image below, you can see that the involvement of different nations has increased greatly over the past few years- expanding that international unity, and helping to make the Master Symbol of the Olympic Rings, and the Olympics themselves that much more profound.
Writer, Jack Ludwig said it well in his description of the 1976 Montreal Olympics:
“The 1976 Games will always be with us: as a happening, as an event, as memory, as nostalgia, as a high point in many a Canadian and American life, the Games came off triumphantly. Those great names, and the images they conjure up of extraordinary human athletic achievement, will reverberate through the rest of the century… Montreal for a fortnight was a succession of New Year’s Eves, South American carnival… trying hard to equal the bull run at Pamplona, the Oktoberfest, the World Series, Super Bowl, World Cup soccer finals. A writer said she really wasn’t interested in sports told me she watched the Olympics because it seemed a kind of unifying experience – all those people all over the world homing in on this one grand event (1976, p. 159).”
Olympic Rings on 1976 Montreal games poster
Isn’t that the meaning-making that the Olympic Rings has had for many of us? Putting committees and politics and even nationalism aside to come together we watch athletes jump higher, run faster, and throw farther (Ludwig, 1976). The United Nations refers to a desire to see an Olympic Truce, which would be people living out the unifying symbol of the Olympic Rings; they call it “an expression of mankind’s desire to build a world based on the rules of fair competition, peace, humanity and reconciliation” (United Nations…) The Olympic Rings can also symbolize national and personal battles against oppression. African American, Jesse Owens’ triumph in the face of racism during the 1936 Berlin Olympics was a blatant and memorable slap in the face to Adolf Hitler’s ideals. Jewish-American, Mark Spitz, won an unimaginable seven gold medals in the 1972 Munich Games after terrorists had targeted and killed 11 athletes and coaches from Israel (Boldt, 2012). Stories like these remind us of the Olympic spirit and unity that the Rings represent.
“It’s every Olympic athlete’s dream to win a medal, but also to be an inspiration to those watching back home.” – Lolo Jones, two-time summer Olympics athlete and first-time winter Olympics bob-sleigh team member (BRtv, 2014). Sentiments like this are also a reason the Olympic Rings hold such significance for so many. They want to participate in the Games and be a part of this special, elite club; even an Oscar-winning actress like Geena Davis wanted to compete (Litsky, 1999).
Academy Award winning actress, Geena Davis, wears the Olympic Rings
Swimmers liken getting their Olympic Ring tattoo as a badge of honor, as they earn the right to represent their country at the Games (Galindo, 2012).
Can’t we relate? As children, haven’t most of us played speed-skating, or decathlon, or even skeleton? Haven’t we dreamt of hearing our country’s national anthem played as its flag was raised? Children dream of being in the Olympics (Jif commercial), and this dream is inherently connected to the symbol of the Olympic Rings.
This is the meaning of the Olympic Rings to many of us and why we watch, cheer, and even shed tears as the athletes representing their respective countries do their best. We, too, want to be a part of those Rings.
It’s why we cheered with Mary Lou Retton (TeamUSA, 2012b), and cried with Dan Jansen (TeamUSA, 2012a). It’s also the reason stories of sacrifice and loss resonate with us. It’s why we may feel honored to be represented by athletes like snowboarder, Justin Reiter, whose sport gets little airtime, no endorsements, and yet he still competes for his country, despite the trials (Peters, 2014). We rally behind our country’s athletes, like many did through crowdfunding for speed skater, Emily Scott, when it was revealed she was on food stamps (Whiteside, 2014).
For me, the first time I became aware of the Olympic Rings was also when they started creating meaning in my life. The Master Symbol of the Olympic Rings has meaning for both international unity, and also a sense of nationalism.
Olympic Rings inspire nationalism
One of our team members remembers watching the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and seeing Mary Lou Retton perform her “perfect 10” vault which won her the ladies gymnastics all-around gold medal (TeamUSA, 2012b).
We associate the Olympic Rings with this and other moments like it – moments of accomplishment and joy in international sports; the idea of representing your country on an international stage; attaining something that feels impossible; battling adversity and injury to compete.
As Americans, we most identify with our own country’s Cinderella stories, like our “Miracle on Ice” 1980 hockey team’s defeat of the Russian powerhouse team in the semi-finals (TeamUSA, 2012d), and the lesser known story of Rulon Gardner (TeamUSA, 2012c) who defeated Alexander Karelin – a man who hadn’t lost in 13 years (Greatest Upsets…). However, we love hearing about all of the underdogs at the Olympics. A notable underdog was the Jamaican bobsled team, but each new Olympics gives us new athletes to cheer, new stories to share, new memories to hold on to, and they are all a part of the meaning the Olympic Rings hold for us.
References:
Bach, T. Unity in Diversity. Candidate for the Presidency of the International Olympic Committee [Manifesto] Retrieved from: http://www.olympic.org/Documents/IOC_President/Manifesto_Thomas_Bach-eng.pdf
Baran, S., and Davis, D. (2012). Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, ferment, and future. 6th Edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
Boldt, J. (2012, July 28). Olympic spirit: Pass it on. [Article] Retrieved from: UVU Review http://www.uvureview.com/2012/07/28/olympic-spirit-pass-it-on/
BP. (2013, December 4). Meet U.S. Bobsledder Lolo Jones, A Proud Member of BP’s Team USA [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/WCKSKGYrZAI#aid=P-mWMLBJdT4
BRtv. (2014, February 16). How Lolo Jones’ Summer Olympic Failures Inspired Her Bobsled Dream in Sochi [Video file]. Retrieved from: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1962437-profiling-lolo-jones-us-bobsled-superstar-sochi-olympics-2014#ooid=Z2ZjZpazq66hGAUUsKXz7wsEfqfuTVZb,xwdjBpazrVaQ0DkuQ8hzR9QWAwEDz185
colorlib. (2014). Looking Back at 120 Years of Olympic Poster Design [90 Posters]. Retrieved from http://colorlib.com/wp/history-of-olympics-poster-design/
Dayhoff, M. (2014). 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia approach. [Image] Retrieved from http://blogs.pjstar.com/eye/2014/02/04/2014-winter-olympics-in-sochi-russia-approach/
Galindo, E. (2012, July 25). Olympic rings tattoo a badge of honor for swimmers. [Blog] Retrieved from: Times Union http://blog.timesunion.com/olympicssource/olympic-rings-tattoo-a-badge-of-honor-for-swimmers/181/
Geena Davis Still Causing Commotion in Archery. (1999) [Article] Retrieved from: CNN Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/archery/news/1999/09/21/davis_archery/#more
Greatest Upsets in Sports History: Rulon Gardner defeats Alexander Karelin 2000 Olympics. [Article] Retrieved from: Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0802/biggest.upsets/content.6.html
I heart flag rings [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203517096917473&set=a.1585275721223.77696.1515671646&type=1&theater
Litsky, F. (1999, August 6). OLYMPICS; Geena Davis Zeros In With Bow and Arrows. [Article] Retrieved from: New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/06/sports/olympics-geena-davis-zeros-in-with-bow-and-arrows.html
Ludwig, J. (1976). Five Ring Circus. Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited.
Peters, J. (2014, February 22) The Saddest Olympian in Sochi Says He Feels “Like One of Those Stray Dogs”. [Article] Retrieved from: Slate http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2014/02/22/justin_reiter_the_saddest_olympian_in_sochi_says_he_feels_like_one_of_those.html
TeamUSA. (2012a). Gold Medal Moments: Dan Jansen — Heartbreak and Triumph [Video file]. Retrieved from: YouTube http://youtu.be/wPYiMekC6jk
TeamUSA. (2012b). Gold Medal Moments: Mary Lou Retton’s Perfect 10 [Video file]. Retrieved from: YouTube http://youtu.be/AFKCFvZDs3A
TeamUSA. (2012c). Gold Medal Moments – Rulon Gardner [Video file]. Retrieved from: YouTube http://youtu.be/uaPx7DbdBUo
TeamUSA. (2012d). Miracle on Ice Gold Medal Moment: 1980 Lake Placid [Video file]. Retrieved from: YouTube http://youtu.be/5nfgTJaT_Vs
TVSpot. (2014). Jif- Creamy Peanut Butter – What If [Video File] Retrieved from: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AglLsprrN6w#aid=P8cgK4sYDPQ
The United Nations and the Olympic Truce. Retrieved from: United Nations http://www.un.org/events/olympictruce/background.shtml
Whiteside, K. (2014, February 4). U.S. speedskater’s dream supported by crowdfunding fans. [Article] Retrieved from: USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/04/emily-scott-usa-speedskater-crowdfunding/5199813/
Wikipedia. 1992 Summer Olympics. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics
Olympic rings 