The Worst Moment in Sports?

When you compete, there are winners and losers. The Winter Olympics are no exception and the human interest stories that NBC so aptly intertwines with the gravity-defying and awe-inspiring accomplishments of the athletes are sure to pull at the heartstrings. Whether it is the death of a parent, a paralyzing fall, or an unfortunate injury that impedes the performance of the athlete, our emotions are affected when we see these young folks dedicate their lives in the pursuit of excellence.

As we watch them compete, we root for our favorites and we share vicariously in their success, or lack thereof. We sympathize with the underdog and we revel in the glow of the winners. We are puzzled by the decisions of judges and we are stunned by the missteps of our heroes.

But we understand that in all these competitive events, it is the young person “in the moment” who is giving it their best, in the hopes of culminating 4 years of preparation and training with a coveted Olympic Medal. The athlete goes into the event ready to prove their mettle and live up to their “favorite” status. Sometimes they succeed; sometimes they are eclipsed by someone else. But they have given it their best and are proud of what they’ve done.

Except Sven Kramer. Not much of the American audience has seen or grasped the sheer terror, frustration, and disillusion of this 23-year old speed skater from the Netherlands. He is the Olympic Champion on the 5K speed skate, setting a rare new Olympic record on ice that is considered slow by international standards. He was the undisputed favorite for the 10K event held yesterday. He had won every 10K event he competed in since the Turin Olympics. He is the World Record holder on that distance and he was uninjured and unafraid. He started his 10K pursuit yesterday in the last pairing, knowing that the surprising Lee Seung-Hoo from Korea had previously broken the Olympic Record with a gutsy and inspiring race. And all who watched live or online were wondering, is Sven up to the challenge?

He was, but his coach wasn’t. About half-way through the race, while Sven was leading by a margin of over 5 seconds, his coach observed Sven going to the wrong lane during the change. Or so he thought in what must have been a moment of panic for him. In a split-second decision, the coach broke habit and directed Sven to the inside lane. Sven followed the unanticipated directive and finished the race in first place, with a new Olympic Record. But he came to realize in the latter laps of the contest that something had gone wrong. His girlfriend in the stands had her eyes covered. The stadium was quiet, where the Dutch are notoriously supportive of their skaters. He knew and so did his coach. Four years of work, one chance for gold and eternal 10K glory; all gone because of a coaches’ mistake.

Who is to blame? No one, of course. But when it comes to worst moments in sports, this has to be right up there.

The Future of Coalition Government

My Right-Side-of-Lowell friend put a guilt trip on me to put out a post on the (not unexpected) fall of the Dutch Government. When I noticed Saturday morning that a 20-hour marathon Cabinet meeting resulted in the resignation of the Liberal (PvDA) ministers, I was not surprised. It doesn’t surprise me that cooler heads were unable to prevail after what must have been a tense, polarizing, and meeting. I am, however, disappointed in the outcome and a bit apprehensive about the future of the Dutch Body Politic.

Let me explain. The Dutch have a long history of governing from the middle. Due to the political system, coalition cabinets are the norm and the prominent leader of the largest party typically serves as Prime Minister for an extended period. While I haven’t researched the statistics on Cabinet longevity, only 6 post World War II cabinets have completed their term (that’s 6 out of 26!). The fact that Balkenende IV just fell indicates that 3 previous Cabinets existed under Jan Balkenende’s leadership and he hasn’t been able to go the distance with any of them. He has been the Dutch leader since 2002 and his Central Democratic Alliance (a party formed by the merge of a number of smaller, Christian-principle and center left parties) has been a major party and routinely part of the ruling coalition for the past 35 years.

The liberal Labor Party (Party van de Arbeid) has fluctuated in their popularity and swapped “largest” party status with the CDA a number of times during these past decades. The personal ambitions of its leader Wouter Bos, the Deputy Prime Minister of the fallen Cabinet, played a key role in the fall of Balkenende IV.

At the heart of the rift was the promised timeline for Dutch Troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Dutch troops support the NATO mission and are scheduled to end their rotation by the end of the year. NATO, the US, and the CDA all assessed the current situation in Afghanistan as requiring continued support of international troops to allow time for the surge to succeed. Hence, the CDA (Balkenende and his CDA Secretary of State, Maxime Verhagen) were open to debate future commitments of troops to NATO’s mission. The PvdA publicly rejected that possibility out of hand.

It seems the PvdA is not interested in facts, only perception. Their perception is that the war in Afghanistan is unpopular in the Netherlands, a perception supported by opinion polls. The poll numbers of the PvdA’s leadership (Wouter Bos) have been slipping for some time – economic turmoil will do that to you. The fact is that one of the leading Dutch newspapers (NRC Handelsblad) points out that the decision to resign will cast the PvdA as the irresponsible party, willing to let the country go ungoverned during an economic crisis, facing charges of abandoning the international community. And that this Cabinet’s fall could be a watershed moment in the history of Dutch politics.

Why am I concerned for the Body Politic in The Netherlands? In one word: Radicalization. Coalition governments do not have a long history of success and the electorate is not happy with the direction the leading parties have been advocating. Populists such as Geert Wilders threaten to undermine the historical Dutch Tolerance. There is a real possibility that the Dutch electorate might gravitate toward Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) and elevate it to a major party. It seems to me that “radicals” haven’t done much good in the world. Whether you agree with Wilders or not, it is indisputable that his and the PVV ideas, are radical departure of the Dutch norm. Radicalism may sell and make for compelling news cycles. But in the end, no radical in history has expanded the freedom of its constituents or created enduring peace and stability.

Although, you could make the argument that the Founding Fathers were the original “good” radicals…

DoD Report on Ft Hood

I haven't had a change to read the full report, but there is clear evidence some folks in the chain of command dropped the ball.

Here is the official report. Clearly the goods are classified and not included but the statement "We conclude.......several officers failed to comply with those policies when taking actions regarding the alleged perpetrator" is telling!