Today's Arena

We are taught to hide our emotions, dismiss our feelings of weakness... to only display strength and to accept nothing but perfection. But some of the most awe inspiring moments in life are the beautiful disasters. Sometimes, it's alluring to watch a person suffer and fail.

In a few days athletes from across the world will push their bodies to the breaking point. They will sweat, they will cry, they will bleed, and they will break... but they will keep going. They will continue forward because for them, suffering is the only way to truly live. In a modern day world that prides itself on finding shortcuts, some individuals have decided to take the scenic route, no matter the hazards that may present themselves along the way.

An obsession can be found in our fascination with the warriors of yesteryear, with our tribal ancestors who survived (and thrived) in the harshest of climates. Perhaps that is why so many become addicted to the CrossFit culture and it's bare essentials design in training. Something strikes a chord inside an individual as they gasp for air in the middle of their workout, sweat dripping from their brow as they look at their calloused covered hands. They realize that the barbell has become their weapon, an instrument that is both their source of pleasure and their source of pain.

And that is what makes these competitions so special, because one man's barbell has seen the same battles as the next. Because as I sit in the crowd cheering on some of the world's most elite athletes, I know their suffering... I've gone to those same dark places in my mind. Because the 60 year old grandma at your gym can relate to the same pain of still having one more round to go as Lindsey Valenzuela will. Because not finishing in the time cap or perform a movement efficiently leaves the same rotten taste in my mouth that it does to Rich Froning. And although you will never meet everyone in our community, you have forged an unspoken bond through our shared suffering.

We are not ticket purchasers paying for a cockfight... laughing, jeering and screaming for blood. We are fellow gladiators cheering on our brethren, we are there to witness beauty unfold. And although acts of victory will be highlighted, those that fail but resist to fold their cards are just as awe-inspiring. The sounds of weights crashing consume us... they pull us in like the songs of the Sirens. At a moment's notice, we would switch places with those competing, albeit the pain we are fully aware that lies ahead for them. But the rosters are set and the majority of us must remain in the stands for now. So until our next shot at glory let us revel at today's gladiators as they win, as they lose, but most importantly, as they never give up.