Perfection in this life is theologically problematical. But in Olympic athletes, it is merely extremely rare. Nadia Comaneci got there in 1976.
Yesterday, McKayla Maroney got there in the vault. Her score was very high - 16.233 out of a possible 16.500 - and not perfect but that was only because of a curmudgeonly judge. Yes, indeed,
Perfection is seldom seen in this life. It's mostly near misses, hard tries, do-overs, quitting or a grudging "that's good enough." Nothing wrong with that, really. Too much perfection is a mistake. But when perfection does come along, we all see it and we all applaud it. It reminds us that perfection is not just some abstract goal but something that can be achieved. Yesterday the Olympics delivered a moment of perfection to the world with McKayla Maroney's vault. Swift, quick, and soaring, it lifts the soul and the heart. It's called the "Amanar." ...
How overwhelmingly perfect was this vault? Well, even though someone among the judges found a "reason" to shave a whisper off a perfect score, this judge's expression at the moment Maroney landed tells the truth:
Maroney didn't win gold for the team with the vault but it did give Team USA a 1.7-point lead in the first rotation. No other team could catch up to that. Long after the judges who robbed her of her perfect score are forgotten, Maroney and her team mates will be remembering those fleeting seconds of absolute perfection. And those memories will be solid gold.Now watch and be proud. (NBCOlympics.com's video is here, not embeddable)
And then think about the gutsy American girls compared to these disgraces: Olympic badminton teams disqualified for throwing matches.
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