Letters to the editor...Carrying flag an honour, but it's irrelevant who does

Dear editor, I am writing to express my displeasure with your comment on our Olympic athletes (Jan. 20 editorial, Poor sports). While I agree that it is a HUGE honour to bear the flag at the opening ceremonies at the Olympics I feel that you were "offside" in talking about a "me-first" attitude. A lot of these athletes make nothing, and in fact it costs them money to pursue their dream. The sacrifices these athletes make are far beyond the realm of what the average person can conceive. For you to suggest they represent another country is absolutely ridiculous. They are declining a personal honour in the attempt to make sure nothing throws them off of their game and they can compete to the best of their ability. It's not about "me first", it's about doing well for both self and country. The Olympics are by far the best sporting competition around and I'm sure all of our team will compete to the best of their ability. Who carries the flag is irrelevant and if a couple of athletes wish to decline the honour in an effort to compete at their best I'm behind them and the whole team the whole way. Jim Faye, Georgetown