Olympic Games teach good lessons

Highly paid professionals lackadaisically trouncing their opponents.

Dedicated amateurs risking life and limb to simply do their best.

Youngsters barely in their teens displaying a maturity far beyond their years.

Seasoned competitors throwing temper tantrums.

Aging athletes pushing themselves to the limit - and beyond - yet one more time.

Graceful losers, humble winners.

And a young man whose death came unexpectedly and tragically.

As I watched the Olympic Games with my daughter this winter, I found myself wondering what lessons she could take away from the nightly tales of tragedy and triumph.

Then I realized that what she learned depended a great deal on what I as a parent taught. And since the Olympic glow has not entirely faded, let me suggest what we parents might hold up for our children as the real lessons to be learned from such a spectacle:

1. Winning is not a matter of the most points, highest score or fastest time. Winning has to do with doing our best.

2. Real heroes are people who - despite sometimes seemingly overwhelming odds against them - do the best they can. Such heroes come in all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, etc.

3. "Sportsmanship" is really nothing more - or less - than treating other people the way we want to be treated: with respect, decency, consideration, compassion.

4. To achieve anything worth achieving almost always takes consistence and persistence, and encounters resistance. In fact, setting a goal and stubbornly pursuing it day in and day out, despite the obstacles in our way, often is more important than natural talent or ability.

5. What people are remembered for is often not how good an athlete they are, but how good a person they show themselves to be while being athletes.

6. There is pain, tragedy and evil in this world. It cannot always be predicted, planned for or prevented. It can be overcome. People of courage - athletes or not - can band together to defy and triumph over pain, tragedy and even evil.

With lessons such as these to teach, perhaps the Olympic Games were much more than just games.

• The Rev. Ken Potts' new book, "Mix, Don't Blend, A Guide to Dating, Engagement, and Remarriage with Children," will be available this spring.