The Olympics Are Hard. This Video of the Filipino Dive Team Scoring 0.0 Is Proof.
Let’s talk about the Olympics for a minute.
There is a certain amount of earnestness required to fully appreciate high-level international athletics. If you’re the kind of person prone to cynicism, boredom or the overwhelming sense that life is quite possibly meaningless, the Olympics are probably not your jam.
There are, however, a few unalienable truths about the Olympics one must recognize: all of these sports are difficult, and the athletes competing are supremely talented. It’s easy to lose sight of that in the three years and 11 months you spend not caring about the decathlon. Whats more, once the Games are on, there’s little context to help you appreciate the heights these athletes have risen to. Sure, the CBC’s Scott Russell does what he can, but, um, see the previous paragraph.
So here, I give you this. Let this video of the Filipino dive team at last year’s Southeast Asian Games be that context. The duo, JD Pahoyo and John Elmerson Fabriga, finished last and second-to-last in competition. They both scored 0.0. They are bad, but that’s okay because diving is hard.