Today marks the close of the  2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver Canada.

Watching the montages of highlights and heartbreaks got me a little thick in the throat.

Seeing the glory and spirit of winning it all  in a competition’s ultimate test is a feeling that I do not believe can be accurately articulated.   The other side of that same indescribable coin is the disappointment and sadness of coming in 2nd or farther back.

But that isn’t the point.

The point, to me, is that they tried.  The men and women that aspire and do compete in the Olympics, or any contest for that matter, are a breed apart.

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan

They take risks.  They train their asses off.  They make sacrifice.  They desire to accomplish something that is much bigger than themselves.

I am humbled by the Olympic spirit and the undeniable effort put forth by those that embody it.

It makes me proud to be an athlete.