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'You go from the top of the world to pushing paper, answering phones'

PATRICK WHITE

From Friday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 10:19 PM EST 29/08/08

When torch is extinguished and medals are unpacked, Olympians crash fast from their adrenalin highs and ask: So ... now what? ...Read the full article

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  1. Sammy Whammy from Tories Kill Canadians, Canada writes: .
    'So ... now what?'

    Hmmm. How about: get a real job for a change.

  2. Samantha Hoffman from Montreal, Canada writes: Oh cry me a river. What about people with real problems like people who have a terminal illness or who live in poverty?

    Oh boohoohoo, I got to live my dream and now I have to live a LIFE and start contributing something real to society. Get over yourselves.
  3. David Lee from Toronto, Canada writes: Agree with the previous posters. Albeit interesting, this article belongs to tabloids and blogs, not on the front page of a national news media's website.
  4. Umm... Toronto from Canada writes: The article should also site the unbalievable divorce rate amongst olympians. And as for that white water kayaker... Imagine if the rest of the working world existed with olympic like priorities? The top three (really only the top) performers are heros whilst everyone else is considered a failure. Great idea. Really top notch thinking there. Life is best lived with a balanced approach. The olympic life is the antithisis of balance.
  5. Steve Saunders from Calgary, Canada writes: To a lesser degree, is this any different from all those people whose lives peaked in high school?
  6. Darren Peters from NOTL, Canada writes: I agree with the part of the article that talks about how starting work at an office can be extremely uninspiring. Being around people with drive and determination, and then coming to an office where people are content to waste their lives away in mediocrity would be depressing indeed.
  7. C P from Canada writes: wow, the lack of compassion in these first few comments is astounding.

    while having never been an Olympian, or even really all that athletic, I can understand where they're coming from. being divorced, I can see how losing a lifestyle that you were pretty used to can be quite devastating. the most difficult part of my divorce hasn't been missing my ex (I don't) but missing the life we had together. married life and single life has been very different for me.

    it would be like with any career. you work, you put all you have in to it, and when it ends, what do you do?

    I can empathise a little with the guy who says he's 10 - 15 years behind his schoolmates. I went travelling for a couple of years after university. when I got back, all my friends had cars, houses, were having kids.... and here I was making $8/hour temping with my marketing degree. I found that surprisingly difficult, and I was only 3 years behind....
  8. RD Lone from Vancouver, Canada writes: Basically this boils down to switching from having fun to having a job. Sort of like people who party hard then have to work - guess what, 'work' is called that because it is not inherantly supposed to be fun, that's why you get paid to do it.

    Personally I view it as a career choice. If any of these atheletes are successful, does the government see a penny of the endorsement income? I don't think so - that is despite the fact that the taxpayer funds part of their training. Look at all the people in the hockey/basketball/etc leagues. A couple will make it and be millionaires, others will find themselves back in the real world with no skills.
  9. Stephanie Robinson from Ottawa, Canada writes: CP from Canada is the only poster in this lot who seems to have any empathy at all. Why critizise the athletes? Why the cynicism? These people work harder in 10 years than the rest of you will for you whole lives - and you respond with ignorant abuse. Add by the way, 'Sammy Whammy' - what sort of 'real' job do you have that allows you to read the newspaper online at 9:30 a.m.?
    The story was interesting and I learned something I didn't know. That's what reading newspapers is all about.
  10. C P from Canada writes: Stephanie, good response! I particularly liked your last line 'I learned something I didn't know. That's what reading newspapers is all about.' bravo! I agree.

    if the athletes in the article were really whining, or complaining about it, then I could understand a bit of this cynicism. but, they're all just saying hey, I didn't expect this depression. that's all.
  11. Steven Poquiz from Toronto, Canada writes: I don't think Michael Phelps our chinese gold medalists in whom were handsomely rewarded for their efforts would be experiencing this...
  12. Modern Observer from Ottawa, Canada writes: I'm with Stephanie Robinson and C P from Canada. Those first posters are mind-boggling in their cynicism and lack of compassion.

    Anyway, one can see this phenomenon on other areas, too, such as with soldiers coming back from operational deployment. The personal focus and energy put into the job at hand can be intense and to be suddenly sprung from that pressure-cooker environment can bring on unexpected problems in its own right. I guess that most suffer at least a bit, but a few will have big problems.
  13. J Reid from Toronto, Canada writes: Olympians vs. internet chatters. The glib negativity of the first few posts illustrates perfectly the challenge for olympians who must re-integrate into regular life after the games. After years of being committed, focused and working harder than anyone else on the planet to achieve a goal, they have to be treated as peers, or worse, subordinates, to the sort of people who post rants on the Internet.

    Being excellent at something makes them have more in common with other people who are excellent at other things than they have in common with people who just happen to do the same things as they do.

    An olympic rower who works as a clerk has more in common with a CEO than he does with other clerks because he knows what it takes to succeed. Any schmuck can do a job, but only a few know what it takes to be the best at something.

    To any athlete looking for a job: avoid recruiters, HR and other people whose job it is to filter people out and find the people you have something in common with: the owners, executives and people who have the authority to take risks. Tell them that you may not know their business, but you know what it takes to succeed and if they give you a shot, you will do for them what you did for your team.

    Just like you did in training, go until you can't, then keep going. It's the only way to win. Good luck.
  14. Jay Dubya from Canada writes: Alot of these guys are pos - skiers, ice skaters, swimers (Phelps was already make $5 million a year), etc.

    Marathoners - if he was doing it for years if i'm sure he won his sshare of prizes.

    I don't think we owe them anything becasue they are dong it for the love of sport not becasue we are raising 'state sponsored atheletes' ala china or russia.

    If other have go ahead it is only because they put their effort and work into something other that sports.

    Sports do it becasue you love it not because you think it will give you ajob or make you rich - do it at your own risk.
  15. B W from Canada writes: I enjoyed this article. The Olympians get a lot of attention for their two weeks, but we really don't get to hear about what they do when they're not competing or no longer Olympians. I think I would enjoy a
    'where are they now' show.
  16. Jay Dubya from Canada writes: CP didn't you get anything from your Olympic experience? If not why did you go?

    Oh, I see you travelled the world doing what you like and love - your choosen sport. Now you don't want to do it anymore but what to be somehow compensated for what you gave up?

    Give me a break - how about all the work and sacrefices those made toilling at their jobs?
  17. JA M from Our Town, Canada writes: 'So ... now what? '

    Actually this summed up the start of the Olympics for me.
  18. Peter The Not Quite Great from Canada writes: A 'software event company'. That's a new one for me. What in the world is a software event company?

    I can empathize with the post-Olympic let down. I lived and worked in Sudan and Kenya for a year, working with poor farmers. It was an intense, all-absorbing experience and returning to everyday life was tough. I can see how a former Olympian who spent years with motivated, talented athletes who would find office life mundane and uninspiring.

    They did get to live a dream though. The trick is to find another dream to chase, another channel for that remarkable drive and determination. That seems to be what the more succesful ex-Olympians have done.
  19. Deeply concerned citizen from Canada writes: Sammy Whammy from Tories Kill Canadians, Canada writes: .
    'So ... now what?'

    Hmmm. How about: get a real job for a change.

    ------------

    Read the article again you obviously missed the entire point.
  20. C P from Canada writes: Jay Dubya.... I'm not an Olympic athlete. please go back and actually read my comment, rather than picking out a word or two to attack.

    and to the others who are actually thoughtfully commenting, I know I shouldn't argue with the rest. but, it's just so ridiculously frustrating seeing people comment all over a story that they haven't really read and obviously don't understand.
  21. Suzanne Mooney from Harare, Zimbabwe writes: My son was an Elite Athlete in Sprint Canoe; he withdrew from competition to pursue university, & is now embarking on a career. While competing he rose at 5 am, trained for 2hrs, went to school, & had a part-time job. My daughter is a dancer, also retired from dance. She danced, went to school, had a part-time job & continued this throughout university; afterwards she danced & tended bar and eventually gave up dance to take a job which would pay the rent.

    I am a management consultant, working with companies largely staffed with mediocre, non-performers & I would be delighted to hire either of my children or their co-athletes/co-dancers who are so self-motivated, driven & dedicated, who work tirelessly without complaining, continually raise the bar for themselves and give their utmost to achieve the very best output possible. Few at this level are 'pushed' to achieve but are driven by inner resources and goals. Almost all of the athletes and artists do this without government support; parents & part-time jobs fund them for the most part. and no one in the article I read said they had no intention of not finding 'a real job'; they spoke only about the difficulty of 'changing gears' & probably at the request of the writer.

    I am truly saddened to read your posts which appear to me so limited in vision about what these dedicated and talented young men and women can contribute to our country.
  22. doctor business from vancouver, Canada writes: Clearly the Olympics isn't doing much for amateur sports. It is too much rock star spectacle. Then you come home to what? We need to support communities not corporate largesse. The Olympic ideal of amateur sports was bought and sold. Sports that are over after 2 weeks are not healthy. Everything for a single moment isn't sport or health. We need stuff that we can do continually. Something inclusive and not TV elite.
  23. Working Stiff from Cowtown, Canada writes: 'the athletes good life'? Like what, scrounging for rent money, training when you're hurting, cancelling your social life, oblivious to all except your sport?
    These people accomplish what most dream of, even if they don't bring home iron. It's so easy to sit in your comfy chair and bash people when you' have to hire a trainer to burn the flab off because you're too 'unmotivated' to do it yourself.
    Yeh, free thinkers and people who 'do' scare the crap out of the sheep and so they bash them
  24. J Planet from Everywhere, Canada writes: Lovely post, Suzanne Mooney from Harare, Zimbabwe. Wonderful to read all the humanizing comments from thinking, compassionate people.

    One encouraging prospect for athletes, should they be inclined: the field of personal and life coaching is exploding. Ordinary folks, not just execs, are hiring life coaches to make changes in their lives or reach their potential. I would hire an athelete as a life coach over anyone else in a snap, because of the discipline and sacrifice they've made to achieve their goals.
  25. Lefty Lou from Canada writes: Studying & working hard for a career is a choice, as is working for success as an athlete. By choice athletes sacrifice (or at least jeopardize) their future careers. They must consider it worth it. Incidently, the olympics were spoiled for me by boring old volleyball. I was hoping to see boxing & weightlifting, but everytime I turned on the TV it was again utterly boring old VB. Come to think of it, that was exactly my experience last time too. I didn't see any boxing or weightlifting, none at all, for the last 2 olympics, VB had a stranglehold on the TV coverage. (How many variations of VB are there?) We've simply got to get rid of VB! (& all my friends agree!)
  26. Edmund S from Canada writes: Well said Stephanie Robinson. Sammy Whammy: What exactly is a 'real job'? Only a few weeks ago these chat boards were filling up with people lambasting Canada's athletes for not bringing in medals (the first five days of the Olympics) and now people are suggesting these peole are to be scorned because they don't have a 'real job'? Unbearable! I know this isn't a totally fair generalization, but in my experience I've only ever heard business people say something like 'get a real job' with respect to anyone who doesn't do - well - business. Earning too much money to do very little of actual value does not make a job more real. It makes that person lucky to live in a society that apportions extraordinary monetary rewards to occupations that don't really contribute all that meaningfully to the greater well-being. Artists, academics, musicians, athletes, performers - heck, even civil servants - none of these people has a 'real job' because they aren't out there 'producing' some 'thing' to sell. They're either pursuing a passion or have chosen a vocation that is more meaningful to them. In my mind, there is nothing more real about making a 'product' that people don't need, and then selling that 'product' at four times what it cost to make it. I mean, it happens and it's a good living if you've chosen it, but to suggest that elite athletes or others are flawed for choosing more interesting careers is not only unfair but grossly self-serving. I think most, if they were athletically inclined, would jump at the chance to stand on the podium singing 'Oh Canada' in Beijing or some other exotic locale, over any other 'real job'. It's too bad these athletes are made to feel as though their focus, dedication and high-achievement are not highly valued in other endeavours, which seems absurd to me. It suggests an attachment to the comfort of mediocrity in the face of the exceptionalism that so many of these Olympians exemplify.
  27. Nathan Cool from Vancouver, Canada writes: Darren Peters, without people working in offices, you wouldn't be reading this web site right now.

    Clown. You think the world would run on tri-athletes?
  28. Nathan Cool from Vancouver, Canada writes: I would add that I PAID for the free ride these athletes have enjoyed.

    They can now try paying taxes for awhile and see how it feels.
  29. Marlene Gregory from Montreal, Canada writes: These young people were never at 'the top of the world' ...That is the fallacy...they are simply athletes who received alot of media attention for 2 weeks.
  30. MA ma from OTTAWA, Canada writes: Pushing papers and answering phones.... What's wrong with that? I've been doing it for 17 years and getting paid very good money for it.

    The Olympic is supposed to be amateur sport. So these athletes should have had a day job. Don't tell me that they train from 9 to 5 every day.
    If they find it hard after the games is because they don't takes steroids anymore and they go into withdrawal.
  31. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: Stephanie Robinson from Ottawa, Canada writes: ... These people work harder in 10 years than the rest of you will for you whole lives

    ----------------------------------------------------

    It's NOT WORK. It's amateur sports.

  32. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: Deeply concerned citizen from Canada writes: Sammy Whammy from Tories Kill Canadians, Canada writes: .
    'So ... now what?'

    Hmmm. How about: get a real job for a change.

    ------------

    Read the article again you obviously missed the entire point.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I was making MY point, not their point.
  33. Charlie R from Richmond Hill, Canada writes: Nathan Cool, There is nothing FREE about being an Olympic athlete, especially a Canadian Olympic athlete.

    It's quite amusing some of the negativity of some posters here. Wow, so you know how to read words on print or on a webpage, but fail to understand the point of the article. If any of you really knew how to read, you'd realize that the message of the article is that being good at something takes time. Athletes spend years getting to the top of their sport, while their friends and colleagues spend those same years building careers and families. See the balance there!!! Now that some of them have reached the top and decide to retire from sport they are realizing the struggle of the other side... the so called 'real world'.

    Just like when they first started their sport and found things difficult in the beginning, they are finding having to start over difficult as well.

    GET IT!!!

    The other message is that athletes need to pursue their new lives with the same discipline and dedication as they did when training to win medals.

    At the end of the day, they are no different than the rest of us. So when we criticize them for being whinny brats, then really we are just criticizing ourselves.
  34. Canadian Pom from United Kingdom writes: I can understand that it must be difficult, but it's a decision these people have made. Did they think the world would stand still until they were done training?

    This article did give me a laugh though - fancy someone finding corporate life uninspiring!
  35. charles laplante from Canada writes: well put J Reid
  36. gordon foster from Canada writes: Yeah, you really have to feel for those poor government-sponsored adrenalin junkies.
  37. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: Edmund S from Canada writes: 'It's too bad these athletes are made to feel as though their focus, dedication and high-achievement are not highly valued in other endeavours, which seems absurd to me. It suggests an attachment to the comfort of mediocrity in the face of the exceptionalism that so many of these Olympians exemplify.'

    I wonder if it's also evidence of a trend I've noticed in the last decade or so in corporations. Where once a person's spirit and other achievements were taken into consideration when hiring, now it seems the only thing that matters is direct training and experience. That's important if you're looking for an engineer, of course, but now it seems even buyers and accounting clerks have to have the right credentials.

    Of course, why would people used to pushing themselves to their limits want to work for a big corporation?
  38. M Trimble from Saskatoon, Canada writes: I believe the CBC just got a new channel approved to show primarily amateur sports. I think this is great! Now we don't have to go 4 years in between beach volleyball, gymnastics, or table tennis events on TV!

    As for the article, I feel the same way after coming back from a really good vacation, but after a week or so of being forced to get back into work mode, any doldrums are replaced by fearful thoughts like 'If I don't finish this today I may lose a customer!' That usually gets me back into it.

    It seems to me that being a high performance athlete is a blessing and a curse, a gift and a burden. If you exhibit incredible potential in a sport, you feel compelled to pursue that potential, sometimes at the expense of other possible life paths. It can pay off, as it seems to have for someone like Phelps (he spent everyday at the pool for years from the age of 13, I think). Or, it can be disappointing if you never fulfill the potential you or someone else saw in you. I can't imagine sacrificing for 5-10 years towards a goal and then tweaking a hamstring or tripping on a hurdle, or getting sick right before the Olympics, or just finding out that you aren't physically able to perform at the level you need to. That would be depressing and I empathize with our Olympians who have to come crashing back to reality so quickly. I think we should consider something like the military does when it sends troops home after a tour -- a decompression vacation somewhere like Dubai. We could have sent our Olympians to Hawaii for a week to decompress and mentally prepare for 'the real world' . . . whatever that means.
  39. Chris Edwards from Greater Sudbury, Canada writes: 'So now what?'

    More like 'So what?'
  40. steven cooke from Toronto, Canada writes: I also can't understand all the hatred being espoused towards Olympic athletes. I can't imagine what a difficult shift it must be to go from the hyperfocus, single-mindedness and adrenaline rush of competitive sports to suddenly adapting to a life of basic pursuits. Another comment referred to other examples of operating in an exceptional environment. I think the Cdn Olympic Committee (can't use the unfortunate acronym) should help them adjust to life on the outside.

    I can only assume that those negative commentators are jealous of the athleticism and discipline of Olympians and the attention paid them. You are likely not capable of feeling shame but you deserve to feel it.
  41. P Martin from St. John's, Canada writes: I wish the best for these athletes. No matter the circumstances, wishing ill for any person is a negative against you, not them. I can understand anger against criminals, politicians or even car salesmen, but athletes? You have got to be kidding me. It appears that there are others that need to grow up...
  42. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: Charlie R from Richmond Hill, Canada writes: ... Athletes spend years getting to the top of their sport, while their friends and colleagues spend those same years building careers and families. See the balance there!!!

    ------------------------------------------------

    No, I don't see it.

    Building a career and a family usually mean you have learned, earned, saved, and built.

    Flouncing around a gym or a track to make yourSELF the 'best' at something leaves you wondering 'What next' after you come in 8th or 14th or 25th for the third or fourth time. That is to say, its a waste of time.
  43. sonny l from toronto, Canada writes: Too many people on this board never had a life, their anger erupts any time someone who did have a life comments on how awful 9-5ing is.
  44. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: J Reid from Toronto, Canada writes: Olympians vs. internet chatters. The glib negativity of the first few posts illustrates perfectly the challenge for olympians who must re-integrate into regular life after the games. After years of being committed, focused and working harder than anyone else on the planet to achieve a goal, they have to be treated as peers, or worse, subordinates, to the sort of people who post rants on the Internet.

    ---------------------------------------------------

    LOL! They wouldn't have that problem if the 'goal' they set out to achieve was worth spit.

    As it is, pursuit of thieir 'goal', however assiduously they do it, is such a farcically useless and self-indulgent activity that they come out of it apparently all but unemployable.
  45. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: Suzanne Mooney from Harare, Zimbabwe writes: ... I would be delighted to hire either of my children ...

    --------------------------------------------------------

    LOL!!!!
  46. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: M Trimble from Saskatoon, Canada writes: I believe the CBC just got a new channel approved to show primarily amateur sports. I think this is great! Now we don't have to go 4 years in between beach volleyball, gymnastics, or table tennis events on TV!

    -------------------------------------

    It'll be like Sunday afternoon, everyday, all day -- no-one watcing.
  47. Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: steven cooke from Toronto, Canada writes: ... I can only assume that those negative commentators are jealous of the athleticism and discipline of Olympians and the attention paid them.

    ----------------------------------------

    Just to let you know -- I wouldn't give a sweet flying frisbee if they weren't sucking tax dollars to support their hobbies.
  48. stand up mimi from Vancouver, Canada writes: sonny l - You said it.
  49. Marc Carruthers from Calgary, Canada writes: While I'm sure it must be a 'downer' for all those athletes who came home without medals, it must be put in perspective. Just having made it to the Olympics is a huge accomplishment, isn't it? Life will go on, and I'm sure most of them will have successful careers and generally happy lives ahead of them. I wish I could say the same for all the dissidents in China, the most undeserving host country in recent memory. What will happen to the Tibetan monks, Falun Dafa members, AIDS activists and other political prisoners? What about the people who dared to protest when their homes were destroyed without compensation so that the world's athletes, the joint IOC-CCP elites, and all those smily-faced Chinese cheerleaders could enjoy the fancy Olympic facilities? The lives of these dissidents were bad enough before and during the Olympics, but no doubt things will get even worse for them now that the spotlight is off China. Perhaps some of these Olympians suddenly finding themselves back in the 'real world' could find meaning in their lives by speaking out against China's human rights abuses (and elsewhere in the world), something very few if any of them did during the Beijing Shames. Their voices could carry some weight in keeping the pressure on China, something our political leaders have failed to do.
  50. The Religious Left from Canada writes:
    Ya, I can it can be pretty tough when you realize that you've trained your whole life to be the best at something that no one cares about. You are the best rower in the world, but you still fall short of a crummy engineer who can do a shoddy job designing a boat engine. The adage 'Work smarter not harder' comes to mind.
  51. Lefty Sam from Canada writes: I got news for you Lefty Lou, there is now a version of ice volley ball. you'll be able to enjoy it in the winter olympics in 2010. Happy viewing! PS// you could have watched NBC, they showed other events. L.S.
  52. Andrew E from Canada writes: maybe if they'd have studied business instead of going out for track or swimming, they'd have jobs where they can have former athletes answering their phones for them.
  53. Loki Wils from Canada writes: Cry me a river...okay...WHAAAA! These athletes should blame their parents, who pushed them into their respective sport genres. Not us.

    Anyway, being a 'garbage-man' IS a real job, you whiney little interviewee!

    Go Sammy-Whammy! At least he's a focused poster, unlike many here. And just because he's posting at 9:30 in the morning, doesn't mean he's not gainfully employed (probably in a REAL JOB!)

    As for you, mary Smith: keep your vitriolic comments against fellow posters to yourself.
  54. Nathan Cool from Vancouver, Canada writes: steven cooke, are you kidding me? I paid for someone to spend 10 years being the fastest person at jumping a series of wooden obstacles and now you want me to pay for their transition into the real world?

    Not bloody likely.

    If some people are so enamored with athletes, then they can pay for their lifestyle directly... I don't see why I should be forced to through my taxes.

    Last I checked, we have a health care crisis in this country and people starving to death in Africa.
  55. Natalie In Vancouver from Canada writes: To put some perspective on the 'post olympic blues':

    Retiring a sport that you've put all your time, energy, a lot of money into is like being fired from a job that you love.

    For anyone that has been fired or have to leave a job they loved in which they have invested a great deal of effort - so much so that they feel like they left a piece of themselves in the project, company, etc - it's devastating. It's almost as if part of your identity is missing.

    While some athletes choose to retire because they have accomplished all that they desired, most athletes retire from injury, age, financial stress, or family related reasons. Not really things they have a whole lot of control over.

    I know people may argue that if they didn't do the sport they did they wouldn't have those problems, but some things happen regardless of whether you do the sport or not. And perhaps it is a choice that they made, but it doesn't make their feelings of depression less valid or that they 'deserve' to feel that way because that's the choice they made. It would be a very bleak world if no one supported each other because they deserve to be unhappy.
  56. Emma Hawthorne from Canada writes: It's absurd to toss away the careers of athletes who have some of the best sports expertise in the world. They should each have a part-time gig all through training and performance years, hopefully with an interational sports organization or company that can use their enormous knowledge and sports skills in return for providing some salary, sponsorship and promotional opportunities plus training for later careers. A workshop in 'post-medal resume writing' is as useful as a smiley-faced bandaid. Athletes amateur careers should naturally morph into administering top-notch fitness programs and facilites and/or extensive and lucrative coaching, business and writing careers. I suspect that mediocrity, as per usual in Canada, is desperately trying to lock them out of a marketplace that needs them very badly. A first-order remedy is for olympic athletes to form an exclusive athletes lobby group to give them a voice and clout.
  57. Emma Hawthorne from Canada writes: Government should fund top athletes with about $30,000 per year, but they should be required to plan their post-athletic careers right from the start, hopefully by using their sports knowledge and experiences as a career base. Properly used, the experience of being an olympic athlete should be a valuable career boost, never a hindrance.
  58. Nathan Cool from Vancouver, Canada writes: Emma, I'll take it a step farther. Athletes should have their future wages garnished to pay back the training money they got.

    This will be REALLY easy for those that won medals as they cash in on corporate endorsements.
  59. Natalie In Vancouver from Canada writes: Nathan Cool - Very few olympic medal winning athletes win big corporate endorsements that cover the costs of living and training, especially those in more obscure sports. Many don't even get cash - many get donations of equipment, plane tickets, or uniforms.
  60. strider 643 from Canada writes: Post-Olympic revelation: Life is suffering.
  61. Michael Soft from Phelps, Canada writes: They should return to training...There are only 4 years to the 2012 London Olympics. Not a lot of time for preparation if they indeed want to be at the top of the world!
  62. Lefty lou from Canada writes: I knew it, Lefty Sam! You let them in & the next thing you know, they want ice volleyball! I suppose you'll be telling me next that they want water VB in the next summer O. -with 2person, 5p, 20p, & 100p teams. BTW, will they be playing in bikinis or parkas in winter volleyball?
  63. Ryan Ginger from Canada writes: It wasn't all that long ago when even professional hockey players had 'summer jobs' to help out when the season ended.

    So what are we going to do now, start giving pensions to 'retired' athletes?
  64. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Here is what I get from this pathetic thread. Most of you have jobs you hate. Most of you (especially mouth piece Sammy) got picked last during school when playing a team sport. Most of you would have to look up empathy in the dictionary to even get a clue what it means. Someone above suggested it was like _losing a job that you love_ Quite true but I suspect most of these bitter posters have never had a job that they loved. Hence the bitterness in the postings about athletes that have worked and sacrificed their entire *young* lives at something they enjoyed. Bitter post = general loser (lifetime). --------- Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: Stephanie Robinson from Ottawa, Canada writes: ... These people work harder in 10 years than the rest of you will for you whole lives --------- It's NOT WORK. It's amateur sports --------- Why Sammy you bitter pos.... cause they enjoy it and you don't??? You make me sick..... and btw... professional athletes have to work just as hard. Cut from your peewee team and have trouble walking down the street without falling over your own feet??? you are sad.
  65. Puk Natcha from Canada writes: If I was an employer I'd give thes people a good look.
    I'd want determination, perseverance and heart in my company. And it could send a message to the clock-watchers as well.
  66. Mike Sun from Canada writes: It's a pity to see people coming to work every morning without passion for their work - simply becasue they need paychecks to feed their stomach.
  67. stand up mimi from Canada writes: So many people begrudging others a soul-satisfying career and wishing everyone a life of mediocrity. It's a bit off-topic, but this thread brings to mind a passage from Wind Sand and Stars, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. As Saint-Exupery is about to embark on his first mail flight in the early days of flying, an exciting and dangerous mission that makes him feel fully alive, he rides a bus to the airfield that also carries a bunch of bureaucrats, half asleep:

    'Old bureaucrat, my companion here present, no man ever opened an escape route for you, and you are not to blame. You built peace for yourself by blocking up every chink of light, as termites do. You rolled yourself into your ball of bourgeois security, your routines, the stifling rituals of your provincial existence, you built your humble rampart against winds and tides and stars. You have no wish to ponder great questions, you had enough trouble suppressing awareness of your human condition. You do not dwell on a wandering planet, you ask yourself no unanswerable questions; lower-middle-class Toulouse, that's you. No man ever grasped you by the shoulder while there was still time. Now the clay that formed you has dried and hardened, and no man could now awaken in you the dormant musician, the poet or the astronomer who perhaps once dwelt within you.'
  68. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Thanks Globe and Mail... you turned my well formatted post into something from a blithering idiot... I will try again.
  69. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Here is what I get from this pathetic thread.

    Most of you have jobs you hate. Most of you (especially mouth piece Sammy) got picked last during school when playing a team sport.

    Most of you would have to look up empathy in the dictionary to even get a clue what it means.

    Someone above suggested it was like losing a job that you love

    Quite true but I suspect most of these bitter posters have never had a job that they loved. Hence the bitterness in the postings about athletes that have worked and sacrificed their entire young lives at something they enjoyed.

    ---------

    Sammy Whammy from Tory rules make poisoned meat, Canada writes: Stephanie Robinson from Ottawa, Canada writes: ... These people work harder in 10 years than the rest of you will for you whole lives
    ---------
    It's NOT WORK. It's amateur sports

    ------------

    Why Sammy you bitter pos.... cause they enjoy it and you don't? you are sad
  70. Tom G from Canada writes: CP writes: wow, the lack of compassion in these first few comments is astounding.

    Misplaced compassion. To have had the extremely rare opportunity to be part of something, if momentarily, greater than yourself. To have been part of an emotional substratum most mortals will never experience, even at their prime--this is not the stuff of compassion. These athletes were granted a genuine glimpse into an elusive part of the human experience that is the stuff of opera, where the passions, but for a scant nanosecond, actually mean everything; an extreme that is shared with survivors of great disasters and tragedies. Living a life of mere normality must be a let down, but they have the memories, both emotional and visceral and are not to be pitied.
  71. Loki Wils from Canada writes: I think Sammy Whammy is at work - you know, making a REAL living.

    Scot Loucks: you're acting like an apologist. Just go with the flow, brother.

    As for missing posters, haven't heard from the caustic mary smith, either, Scot.

    I still believe this is a non-story about athletes simply wanting free pensions. Go cry to Mom and Dad - they're the ones who got their kids involved in their mess in the first place.
  72. J Ross from Cochrane, Canada writes: I have the utmost respect and sympathy for Olympians. To those of you insinuate Olympians are having fun for years and years and should get a real job, I dare say they commit themselves a hell of a lot harder to their daily activities than any of you do in your mundane lives.

    I think there is a business opportunity here for Olympian re-training and re-integration. They may be at a 10 year disadvantage to colleagues of their same age, but their commitment and work ethic are something to be harnessed not squandered with idle water cooler chat and the normal day to day routine.
  73. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Loki Wils from Canada writes: I think Sammy Whammy is at work - you know, making a REAL living

    ---------------

    You think Loki? What if he was working for you.... Is he working? No... he was posting BS on Globe threads.

    You don't have a problem with that? So real work is all about not working?

    Union member maybe?

    Cheers
  74. Marc Carruthers from Calgary, Canada writes: You (Marc Carruthers, from Calgary, Canada) wrote: While I'm sure it must be a 'downer' for all those athletes who came home without medals, it must be put in perspective. Just having made it to the Olympics is a huge accomplishment, isn't it? Life will go on, and I'm sure most of them will have successful careers and generally happy lives ahead of them. I wish I could say the same for all the dissidents in China, the most undeserving host country in recent memory. What will happen to the Tibetan monks, Falun Dafa members, AIDS activists and other political prisoners? What about the people who dared to protest when their homes were destroyed without compensation so that the world's athletes, the joint IOC-CCP elites, and all those smily-faced Chinese cheerleaders could enjoy the fancy Olympic facilities? The lives of these dissidents were bad enough before and during the Olympics, but no doubt things will get even worse for them now that the spotlight is off China. Perhaps some of these Olympians suddenly finding themselves back in the 'real world' could find meaning in their lives by speaking out against China's human rights abuses (and elsewhere in the world), something very few if any of them did during the Beijing Shames. Their voices could carry some weight in keeping the pressure on China, something our political leaders have failed to do.
  75. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Good post J Ross from Cochrane.

    Cheers
  76. Alpha Beta from Help, Andorra writes: the article can apply to anyone who undergoes a radical change in their lives. and we all do from time to time. changing jobs/careers, overcoming illness etc etc.

    i found it surprising that olympic athletes would have to undergo training for writing a resume or have to learn the nuances of a job application. i understand olympians are buswy with their training but most of canada's olympic athletes dont get a lot of financial support and most of them are easily of working age. have some of them been so sheltered from the real world for so long they didnt learn these basic skills?

    not criticizing the athletes, but if their training consumes them so much they cant learn these simple things and fall 10-15 years behind former schoolmates in career paths, then maybe the olympic dream isnt so great after all.
  77. Pamphleteer . from Canada writes: But his closest encounter with his feminine side came exactly 12 years ago, when he came home from Olympic competition for the last time.

    'Without fear of being politically incorrect, I would liken it to post-partum depression,' says the three-time medal-winner, now a director at an event software company. 'When you're training and competing, it's like you have this baby for months, it's blossoming and then, suddenly, it's over and your whole life changes.'

    --

    Pardon?

    Is the author of the article intimating that depression is a girlie-man disease? Is this the same newspaper that published an outstanding series on breaking down the stigma mental illness?

    For chrissakes Globe and Mail. Start learning what the other hand is doing...
  78. Joe V from Canada writes: I'd imagine this is similar to the transition that many teenagers feel when they get their first real job. That's right, a real job. Something many of these athletes have never held.
  79. Loki Wils from Canada writes: Thank you Scot Loucks, for your critique. Quit knocking follow posters. For all I know, Mr. S.W. was posting on his own time. You're as bad as mary smith.

    I think many of the posters were right - pathetic that Athletes can't even fill out a resume. They need special SCHOOLING?

    I've been posting for quite a few hours - gonna accuse Me of wasting company time? Maybe I'm self-employed, maybe I'm rich - don't make assumptions about posters you don't personally know.

    Cheers back to you, Friend.
  80. Marc Carruthers from Calgary, Canada writes: Scot Loucks...if the only way you can state your view is to insult other posters, then I feel sorry for you and I won't stoop to your level of asinine, puerile attacks. Since the article was discussing the difficulty of athletes making the transition to post-Olympic life, it was not unreasonable of me to make a suggestion as to what they might consider doing now. If you don't like my idea, well too bad.
  81. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Loki Wils from Canada writes: Thank you Scot Loucks, for your critique. Quit knocking follow posters. For all I know, Mr. S.W. was posting on his own time. You're as bad as mary smith.

    ------------------

    Loki... I have no clue who mary smith is.... I stay away from the partisan BS that appears on the politico threads... no intelligent life there... just school yard banter about my dad can beat your dad kinda stuff but based on your comment I would think it wasn't a compliment.

    No where does the article state that these athletes couldn't write a resume. The one statement was that a retired athlete had nothing to put on his resume and ended up being a garbage man (not that bad.. good money).

    --------------

    You criticize me for bashing Sammy... he who bashed more people on this thread than any other? To F'n funny.

    I may not know for sure that Sammy is wasting company time.... but I would certainly be willling to bet on it... why? Because I am of above average intelligence and can recognize these kind of things

    Cheers... and no ... I don't see us as friends.
  82. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Marc Carruthers from Calgary, Canada writes: Scot Loucks...if the only way you can state your view is to insult other posters.

    ===========

    Marc.... in fact I rarely do as you suggest.

    You chose to post an anti China comment (politics) without (obviously) reading the article.

    For all you know I may well agree with you about China.... but you were trying to turn an article about retired Olympians into something it wasn't.

    You obviously went back and read the article after my comment... but your first comment (11:09pm) had nothing to do with our athletes or the article.... and I just went back an re read it to make sure.

    Nice try though.

    Cheers
  83. stand up mimi from Canada writes: Joe V: Just curious - what do you consider a 'real' job?
  84. Alpha Beta from Help, Andorra writes: scot, the article does indeed say athletes need help in resume writing and job hunting:

    'In recent years, the Canadian Olympic Committee has tackled the lack of options for some returning athletes. In October, it will hold a career fair in King City, Ont., where retiring athletes will learn the nuances of résumé writing and job applications. Other organizations such as AthletesCAN and Olympians Canada have created alumni networks to help former athletes cope with job markets and personal problems.'

    i thought these were things taught in high school, at least they were when i was a student in the early 80s. no wonder a lot of athletes are finding themselves behind the 8 ball once they retire from sport.
  85. Loki Wils from Canada writes: Above-average intelligence - can 'read' into one's postings...wow!!! You are one helleva sentient, Scot Loucks! I bow to your Greatness. I kneel at your altar forever more!

    Get real.

    You're a sorry little man.

    Cheers 'Friend -not?' Why not - can't handle enlightened posters who, while disagreeing with your posts, still have the temerity to respond to them in a fairly reasonable manner?

    I suspect YOU'RE the one drinking tonight.

    When an olympic athlete can prove his worth to my company, without special dispensation from some special-interest group 'training' him on how to fill out a resume, then maybe we'll talk in a sensible manner.

    Meanwhile, please stop attacking your fellow posters.

    CHEERS! CHEERS!! CHEERS!! CHEERS!! (Usually expressed when one is toasting with alcohol, I believe....).
  86. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Alpha Beta from Help..

    Alpha.... i got that.... but I only read that as they are going to help with that part of the rehab on the athletes.

    Nowhere does the article say the athletes (retiring) can't write a resume.

    Loki:

    I really don't understand why you aren't behind kids that gave up over 10 years of their lives to try and make Canada proud.

    The fact that there is finally a support network for these athletes... well.... to me I am proud of that.

    cheers.
  87. Alpha Beta from Help, Andorra writes: scot, the article just says the resume training is for retiring athletes, meaning athletes who are finished with their sport and are moving into the job market. the quote i posted above from the article makes no mention of 'rehab.'

    if a retiring athlete is 25 or 30 years old as many of them are, and still needs help writing a resume, and has little to put on that resume other than sport, then that person is possibly in for a world of hurt. garbage man jobs may pay well but is that the kind of job people should be aspiring to? i think olympic athletes are the kind of people who might want to shoot a bit higher (if they can).
  88. Alpha Beta from Help, Andorra writes: btw scot, i'm also proud and happy to see that theres some support network for the athletes, once retiring. in some countries those olympians are just discarded like yesterdays trash once they've stopped winning medals.

    just as an analogy, i left the military several years ago and made a similar transition back to 'real life.' the difference between olympic athletes and people leaving military service is that most ex military have substantial info to fill a resume (among all the other benefits available which surely help).
  89. Loki Wils from Canada writes: Thank-you Scot, for your sanctimonious response. Trying to recuse yourself of your earlier rude postings? Not buying.

    Let the Athletes go to a remedial course at their own expense. I already pay enough taxes for these elites.

    I'm sick of the 'Awwww, poor me!' sob stories of these otherwise privileged kids. Let them do a tour of duty in Afghanistan, or Africa, then maybe I'll grant them some re-training cash.

    I was granted a 'Cheers' this time - mean we're friends? Lucky me...
  90. Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Alpha Beta.... I'm not sure what we are arguing about.

    I come from a military family and my brother (RMC grad and a Captain when he left).... is ready to re up. I totally agree about people leaving the forces.

    Why the bitterness about alpha personalities that have spent 10 years plus following a dream? Is it because they don't have the same support system for ex military? If it is..... then I totally agree with you.

    ===========

    Loki Wils from Canada writes: Thank-you Scot, for your sanctimonious response. Trying to recuse yourself of your earlier rude postings? Not buying,
    ================

    Don't really care Loki whether you buy or not. .... sanctimonious is your realm.. not mine.

    Trip over a skipping rope is my bet. You hate athletes of all kinds.... got that. Cheers.... and enjoy your solitary life.

    btw ... spell check only finds stuff you typed.... gee.. what a surprise.

    Cheers.. not :)
    • Posted 30/08/08 at 3:24 AM EST |