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It was 69 years since Jack Shea, who won two Olympic gold medals in speed skating, had taken the Olympic oath on behalf of the other 305 athletes at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. Shea recited the oath again last March.

"Deo Gratias," he said in Latin. "By the grace of God, I have had the personal satisfaction of realizing my dream."

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One athlete from the Olympic games host country takes the oath at the Opening Ceremony on behalf of all the competing athletes. The Olympic oath is a gesture of sportsmanship that was first given at the 1920 Olympic games. Jack Shea embodied the Olympic Oath and a true model of sportsmanship.

My own definition of Good sportsmanship is respect for one's opponent, commitment to fair play, ethical behavior, and integrity, graciousness in winning or losing and inclusiveness. Controversy however is not on my list.

The Winter Olympics, once the playground of the elite fair-skinned snow and ice athletes, became a model Olympic melting pot event for all American dreamers during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. For ten glorious days I felt proud to be an American, prouder yet to watch many of the athletes from the sidelines in Utah exhibit exemplary sportsmanship.

Controversy, sure, there will always be some controversy when there is high-level sport. However the Olympics should always be about The Glory of Sport. Not the "winning" but in the "taking part" as the Olympic creed states.

Even as the games slid to and end, controversy was swirling all around the brilliant Utah air. During the controversial seventeen day pageant there were threats by the Russian team to "take their ball and leave", judging scandals in figure skating and even court action by the South Korean team because of the disqualification of one of their speed skaters. There were several positive drug tests documented right up to hours before the closing ceremonies. But, instead let's focus on the good. Let's look at the Glory of Sport during the 2002 games.

Fair play: American Women's Ice Hockey team. I have had the pleasure of watching the 2002 Olympic team practice, scrimmage and play for the past seven months. Fair play comes to mind often. During the Olympic contests many of the young women had become physically sick with bronchitis flu like illness leaving the team weak and at times short handed. They never gave up on the contest and did not stoop to use unfair tactics as their opponents had so often done to them when they were not winning. So often teams who are not used to loosing will lower themselves in acts of desperation. The US team held to their core values even up to the last moments of the final game when it was apparent that they would win silver and not gold.

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Read more about this subject in Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports (Harper Collins) by Brooke de Lench. Brooke is also the founder and editor-in-chief of MomsTeam.com.

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Article Updated: August 25, 2007

Not To Win But To Take Part

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