Shaun White: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
According to the New York Times, the old Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell song in that title up there was playing just before Shaun White took that last gold medal winning run yesterday.
Most people only know the part that goes:
“Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from gettin’ to you…”
But there’s another part that the Times and I both think was probably more appropriate:
“No wind, no rain, or winter’s cold can stop me, baby…”
Now, Shaun White is a controversial figure in the sports world. No doubt about that. Y’all can argue about that amongst yourselves.
I, myself, just wanted to see him go out with a gold because his journey is one that is familiar to almost all of us. No, we don’t all make it in public. With millions of people watching as we fail, spectacularly, and have to wait years to prove ourselves truly worthy.
But we have all been down that road at least one time, for one reason or another. And as I’m probably much older than most of you who’ll be reading this, I’ve been down that road many a time and survived. But you don’t always believe you will.
And I could tell from Shaun's victory sobs that he’d definitely had some moments of deep doubt. And as I watched…held my breath…exhaled…and then sobbed a little bit along with him, I also celebrated him for being just…human…for a few marvelous minutes. In public. With millions watching.
Oh, he can do this, of course:
And this:
And, oh — my — God…
Which is why he wound up doing this:
And this:
But…in the end it was most of all an archetypal story of “man vs. himself.” And this man won ‘way more than just a gold medal yesterday.
And he’s old enough, now, to know that.
And I am old enough to be prouder of that than even he may be.
So while the battles rage — and they’ll surface soon, right on the heels of celebration — I say, “Good on ya’, Shaun.”
It has been an honor and a delight watching you get back to that mountain top. There’ll be other struggles to be sure.
But now you know the way “home.”
