Joyanna Adams

Nobody's Opinion

Nobody Remembers Nadia Comaneci

Nobody Remembers

For those of you who weren’t born yet, you miss one of the biggest moments in Olympic history in 1976 : The Perfect 10’s of Romanian Nadia Comaneci. There were 7 of them. I STILL remember the emotion I felt when she got the perfect 10…first one in Olympic history. It was as if the whole world of women in sports had finally come into some kind of validation.

To just realize you were witnessing a moment of all time…for this small girl with the big brown eyes to come out of nowhere and dazzle the world with her long legs, intense focus, and impossible perfection…it was hard to forget. I still have her picture up on my wall…right in front of my treadmill (LoL) I have NEVER fallen off my treadmill, thanks to that picture.

Thanks Nadia!

This kind of pure genius comes only once in a millennium. There is real genius in taking a talent you might have and making yourself into a champion.  Every year we have searched for another Nadia, and every year…there isn’t one. There are champions, not like the girl who was born with those long legs, that brilliant balance, and impeccable timing. She simply was PERFECT. That doesn’t happen very often in nature, and when it does, it’s incredible.

I sure hope in this year’s Olympics we have less of the “sex” stuff, and more of the inspiration stories of how hard you have to work to become the best at your sport. God knows the kids in the world could use some real wholesome idols right now.

Tomorrow we can lose ourselves in the games…and the world can stop arguing for a few moments, pull up their chairs, have a few beers…and cheer! And please…do we really care if Price Harry contacts the American Women’s Volleyball team?

Let’s hope London does us all proud. I’ll be looking for Nadia’s kids—Who are probably into computers, because that’s how it usually goes doesn’t it?

 

 

July 26, 2012 - Posted by | Uncategorized | , , ,

2 Comments »

  1. Poise, grace, agility, perfect balance, courage, great skill, all in such a young girl. Thanks for the reminder of how one can stand out from the ‘top’. Be the Pinnacle.

    Her performances still bring tears to the eye.

    But let’s also be realistic. Her disciplines are limited to just -enough-‘female’ sports. She was the Best in the World. For a woman. Just. It is unfortunate that so many other women ‘champions, ‘bests in the world’ are no such thing. Women runners, swimmers, javelin throwers etc. Such women champions are charlatans. They do not compete with men in such sports that are gender indifferent.

    The fastest woman runner in the world run slower (in all distances) than the men’s amateur qualifying time. Heck, even the paraplegic men run faster than the women champions.

    Nadia, for all her grace would not be able to do ‘Rings’. Instead the ladies toss ribbons. That differentiates just a little. Enough?

    Women archers compete equally with men. Good for them. Women shooters do. Great. Women tennis players – the most coddled sports ‘stars’ in the Universe- don’t. There is not one ‘first seed’ woman tennis player who could beat the 100th seed man. They play three sets to men’s five and – for crying out loud – want the same money! Female equality. Why are the most sports segregated? Silly question really. It is because women would stand no chance at all at being the ‘Best in the World’ if they competed against men.

    So we have a dual standard. But we never say ‘Best woman’, just ‘best’.

    Nadia excelled in a woman’s sport. It does not detract from her perfection. I do wish though that she would have competed against men in the same diciplines. I am pretty sure we would have seen a REAL female World Champion.

    (PS. I still think Svetlana Kapinina is the world’s most outstanding aerobatic pilot of this generation)

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    Amfortas's avatar Comment by Amfortas | July 27, 2012 | Reply

    • I don’t believe I meant that she could compete with a man. She was just perfect at the jobs she had to do. Compete against the other girls.   But, up to that point…I don’t think any woman was as PERFECT in their sport as she was at that time. Because women are so inferior in strength to men, it’s was hard for most to take them seriously.   BUT…she raised the bar—and to get the first perfect 10 in the Olympics…well that’s an accomplishment in itself. Historically…it’s a wonderment. And it wasn’t given to her because of “feminist demands” it was real.   She is now…a Catholic. For some reason, I found that …kinda of cool.   I agree with you on all the rest. Guns yes, tennis no..and I’m pretty sure there has never been a world woman champion chess player…has there?    

      Joyanna Adams

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      Joyanna Adams's avatar Comment by joyannaadams | July 27, 2012 | Reply


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