During the month of July there was a special kind of excitement in the air at ACF. The games were upon us! The Super Bowl of our sport was about to begin!  Most of our athletes were buzzing with the excitement and anticipation of the crowning of the next fittest man and woman on earth.

In the days leading up to the crossfit games I paid very close attention to what was happening at our box.  Most classes started with a mention of the games during our briefings at the white board.  Most athletes appeared inspired by a discussion of the games and the athletes that were competing in them.  You could see that enthusiasm in their faces when the coaches speculated about what the WODs might be and who would perform the best.

But I also saw many athletes with blank faces, athletes who didn’t seem at all interested in the Games or a discussion of them.

These are People who I made a point of speaking to later.  “Will you be watching the games?” I asked several of our members.  To my surprise, several people said no. At first I was shocked!

“You’re not going to spend four days glued to your computer and a wi-fi network to watch

people do what you do everyday?”

I was confused, it made no sense. It was like playing softball your entire life and not watching the world series………

Except that I’ve played softball my whole life and I hate watching major league baseball.  And to be honest, I don’t much like watching the games either.  It was kind of liberating to know that I am not the only person who doesn’t like to watch the games.  I used to think that there was something wrong with me, that I was less of a crossfitter because I could care less if Rich Froning won for the fourth straight year.

So I thought about it.  What does this disinterest in the Games mean?  Does it mean that the athletes who choose not to watch don’t care about our ACF community?  Does it mean that they are not dedicated to their personal crossfit journey?

Of course it doesn’t.

There are many members at ACF that come to our box day in and day out, that leave their heart and soul in the image of a perfect sweat angel on the floor.  These are people that are dedicated and irreplaceable members of our community. Yet, they have no idea who Rich Froning or Annie T are. And frankly, like me, they don’t care.  And that is ok.

That’s the beauty of our community.  It is diverse. All of us have different goals and different priorities- for some that includes being a spectator and an athlete.  For others, we are just happy being athletes who get to be a part of an amazing community that supports each other both inside and outside of the box.  What is important, what matters, and what connects us all so deeply is that for the hour that we are working, side by side, we are all engaged in the same undertaking- to finish the workout and then to help our fellow athletes finish it as well.

This year I didn’t watch the games, but in honor of them and in honor of the sport of crossfit, something that has become such an important part of my life, I spent the time that I would have used to watch the games to hit double workouts and to take a long run.  I also tried a new sport, and I got my sister, who has never crossfitted before, to hit a wod with me.