Goodbye, London 2012

The London Olympics drew to a close this weekend and I'm sorry to see it end. It has been a fascinating two weeks. 

I wasn't too interested before it began, but as usual, once the action started, the sports fan in me was totally sucked in. 

It was the first Olympics ever for the two kids - Noey was still in utero during the Beijing 2008 games - and I sat down with them every evening to watch the highlights for the day. And as I did so, I was reminded of how this is a tradition that my father started with us.

My father played a huge part in my love for sports. He loved sporting activity - both getting active and watching sports on TV. My father is quite a natural sportsman. While he claims never to have excelled in any sport, he picks up every sport easily and is competent at every sport he tries. He is also quite a tv addict, and I remember hours of sitting with him as he patiently explained the game, tactics and strategy of every sport in such a way that I too would be engaged and absorbed. I learnt about golf, billiards, darts, F1 racing, and of course, football, just by sitting beside him. The Olympics and the World Cup were the highlights of our tv-watching sporting calendar.

With this Olympics, it was a joy to me to see Noey gradually get converted. From complaining that he wanted to watch his kids' programmes when I turned on the television in the evening, he was soon grabbing the remote control from me to prevent me from changing the channel when the Olympics came on screen. "Don't change the channel! I want to watch 'Today in London'. I LOVE the Olympics!" he would tell me. 

He has his favourites. "Usain Bolt!" he would announce delightedly when the Jamaican comes on screen, or when he hears the tv presenter mention his name. The big man's lightning fast runs coupled with his entertaining poses at start and at the end of his races won him one little fan in my household. I have a soft spot for athletics, having run competitively for many years while I was in school, and I joined him in celebrating the achievements of athletes in this, the purest of sports.

While we watch the Olympics for the stars, even at 3.5 years of age, my son gets excited when he sees a Singaporean in the line-up of a race. "Where's the Singaporean?" he'd ask me, straining to see our local representatives in the different sports. We watched Singaporeans in many games where they featured - rowing, women's 100m hurdles, and swimming, to name a few. Each time our representative didn't do so well, he would ask me why they didn't win. I used the opportunity to give him a lesson about how participating in the Olympics is an achievement in itself, and that it was as important that these athletes gave their best.

And then there was table tennis. I missed catching Feng Tianwei's bronze medal match in the women's singles, but Noey and I managed to watch the women's team bronze medal match against South Korea together. The 3-0 scoreline did not tell the whole story. The matches were hard fought and exciting. My heart was in my mouth at some points. Noey, on the other hand, kept bouncing around in excitement. "Which one is Singapore, Mummy? Is it that one? Singapore is very good!"

To my little boy, who knows nothing about the politics behind naturalised athletes nor questions whether any player is a "true Singaporean" or not, he only knows and recognises that it is our country being represented. That Singapore won a medal, and it is something to get excited and be proud of.

The issue of imported, naturalised sportsmen continues to be a contentious one, and I am sad that it is the case. Singapore is certainly not the first country to have naturalised athletes, and is certainly not the last. I can understand some (though not all) of the unhappiness with the money being spent on foreign talent. Yes, perhaps some of the money would be better spent helping the needy or supporting local talent. But sports and sporting achievements have their place too. And I believe local athletes who show potential are fairly well looked after here in Singapore.

For a society with immigrant roots, it seems particularly ironic to me that we tear down and treat as outsiders those who come to seek their fortunes and ply their trade here. And if we do not embrace new comers, then why should they do so in return and how can we complain if they don't assimilate?  

It is one of my desires for my children that they would take to sports and enjoy it. Since starting on the Olympics, I have seen Noey start to involve some ball play in his play time instead of only messing around with his usual Lego and cars. He wants to play football, and basketball. "And table tennis!" he added, just today.

I remember DPM Teo speaking after Feng Tianwei's bronze medal win spoke of inspiring the next generation of athletes. Here in my home, I saw that happen.