The Grass Is Always Greener

Ive long observed a "grass is always greener" mindset among elite rowers with respect to their sport in their country. Ask an American rower about USRowing, and they will inevitably (and probably justly) begin a rant about underfunding, abut politics, about selection, and about how the Brits/Germans/Australians/Canadians have it so much better with their national funding, selection system, etc. Ask an Australian rower about rowing for Australia, and they will rant about how we Americans have it so much better with the wealth of our college system, the lack of politics in team selection, and the sheer number of athletes we have. The same is true for virtually all the rowers I know from GB, Germany, and Canada. Truly, the grass always seems greener on the other side to elite rowers.

I'm realizing that this attitude is endemic to all athletes in all sports in all countries. Everybody has a handicap, and they love to tell you about it. Even Dwayne Wade, who makes more in a year than most Olympic athletes do in a lifetime, thinks he deserves to be paid for going to the Olympics.

I am thankful for my opportunities given to me by USRowing, by my coaches, by the generous donors at the National Rowing Foundation, and by the good folks at the USOC who allow some money to trickle down to fund the sport of rowing. I'm sticking to that. Yes there are injustices in sport. Yes, there is no such thing as a level playing field. But we ought to be aware of what we have, and be thankful for it.