Promising to bring 8 medals (for pessimists) and 10 medals (for optimists), the 163 Mexican athletes – 97 men and 66 women – left for Japan to participate in the Olympic Games. Until the end of this column, in the middle of the sessions, only 2 bronze medals have been obtained, but yes, the leading eagerness of some of our athletes has made them appear denouncing the now down-minded reputation of our country.
It is enough to mention a few sample buttons on the behavior of some Mexican athletes. During the opening ceremony, the weightlifter Jorge Cárdenas lowered his mask, in front of the television cameras. Yes, emulating the President of the Republic, as a gesture of “nothing happens to me”, he taught the world why Mexico is the fourth country with the highest number of fatalities from COVID-19.
The baseball team that “represented” us, instead of doing their thing, walked around wearing the Tomateros de Hermosillo shirt, a team from the Mexican Pacific League, which is prohibited. In addition, they photographed themselves in the area of the Olympic Village without a mouth cover and uploaded the photos to social networks. In both cases they ignored the regulations, for which they were reprimanded by the Organizing Committee of the fair. The Mexican Olympic Committee even expressed its intentions to sue the current two-time champions of the Mexican Pacific League for this fact.
The members of the women’s softball team gave the note that spills the glass, despite the fact that the first of the two weeks of competition is just finishing. Eliminated by winning only one game, in exchange for losing three times, when they left the Olympic village, they left the official uniforms that were provided to them in the trash can and, not satisfied with it, some took with them the quilts that were in their rooms, despite the obvious prohibition to do so, manifested in the regulations.
Throughout history, Mexico has had great representatives in the Olympic Games. Our sports delegations have obtained a total of 69 medals: 13 gold, 24 silver and 32 bronze. This looks to be the worst representation of Mexico in the Olympic Games, because to the poor harvest of medals so far (experts believe that it will hardly grow that number) is added to the shameful behavior of some of the athletes.
In this space we have referred to the reputational transfer. That is, the good behavior of a member of a company or institution helps to create a reputation, just as bad behavior contributes to the deterioration of the reputation of the firm or institution it represents.
In this case, the international collective unconscious that learns of the events described will transfer them in its mind to the image it has of the country and the Mexicans.
Anecdotes in the same direction, but from the fans, there are plenty. We remember that during the World Soccer Championship that took place in Paris, some Mexican visitors urinated on the Arc de Triomphe, an iconic monument of the City of Light. Another case is the sadly famous homophobic cry that many fans of the Mexican soccer team express during the games, despite the warning of sanctions by the international authorities of that sport.
The obligatory questions: why do they do it? Why threaten the reputation of Mexicans and our country? The protagonist’s eagerness can be satiated with bad behaviors, such as those mentioned, but also with a decent performance in sports fair or at least with an appropriate behavior as visitors in the countries where the big events take place.
Enough is being done by many to destroy the undermined prestige of Mexico. Let us conduct ourselves in such a way that we exalt our values and those of our country or, at least, do not contribute to the destruction of its reputation, which also affects ours.