My first wife was an Olympic athlete. She competed in Atlanta in 1996 for the U.S.A.

She was an absolute long shot to make the team. She was competing against athletes with much more privileged backgrounds and much greater advantages, and in most cases, better skills. But she had the biggest heart of anyone I had known.

Being at the Olympics it became clear to me that there are two things going on there. There is the whole commercial, capitalistic thing, and then there is the competition and the athletes, many if not most of whom are not professionals. It was clear to me that it was the job of television and the media to make it seem like they were both the same thing.

The athletes had worked much of their lives to be there, and for many, this was their one opportunity to compete at this level and in this arena, and it truly would change their lives, no matter the outcome. Obviously the addition of so many professionals was to increase television ratings and therefore income. But that aspect was just more visible, because that was what the media focused on.

So I think you are correct. Those old-fashioned qualities still do exist in the heart of most Olympians. That’s just not what we see, because that’s not what sells. But believe me, it’s still there.