Spring Break
My Olympic glory
Brett Fischer
Issue date: 8/22/08 Section: Sports
I could picture it so clearly. Just as 23-year-old Michael Phelps had his own biography, my story of being the greatest athlete at my respective sport was going to be epic. It was going to be a tale of how I overcame the odds to become an Olympic champion…
As I walked toward the stage and stood on the tallest point on the podium, I looked around and heard thousands of people echoing my name. An American flag was raised and tears started to roll down my cheeks as I heard the introduction to the Star Spangled Banner. As I wiped the tears away from my pale face, I bowed my head and a shiny gold medal was placed around my neck for the eighth time in this year's Olympics. Everyone said it was impossible for me to accomplish this feat. Even my own friends and family thought I wouldn't be able to achieve it. But there I stood, with my eighth gold medal, wondering if I was truly the best athlete in the world - of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
It all started when I was four years old. In Southern California, it was popular to start training for Rochambeau (or Rock, Paper, Scissors, as it is better known) at a young age to prepare for the Olympics. We would do several hand exercises such as high-fives and thumb wrestling. This would better improve our stamina and help us make wise decisions. We were also taught to read, write and speak fluent English so that we could read the wise tales of our ancestors and how they were able to dominate the sport.
When I was seven, I was able to read books about the proper strategies of Rochambeau, including the odds of someone selecting paper after choosing rock, or the probability someone would select a certain choice after making the same selection as the opponent (if me and my opponent were to choose scissors at the same time). After six years of reading books on how to better my Rochambeau techniques, I took it to the regional level and competed in the Southern California District I Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center. There were 6,414 entrants, but I was determined to place in the top 10.
As I walked toward the stage and stood on the tallest point on the podium, I looked around and heard thousands of people echoing my name. An American flag was raised and tears started to roll down my cheeks as I heard the introduction to the Star Spangled Banner. As I wiped the tears away from my pale face, I bowed my head and a shiny gold medal was placed around my neck for the eighth time in this year's Olympics. Everyone said it was impossible for me to accomplish this feat. Even my own friends and family thought I wouldn't be able to achieve it. But there I stood, with my eighth gold medal, wondering if I was truly the best athlete in the world - of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
It all started when I was four years old. In Southern California, it was popular to start training for Rochambeau (or Rock, Paper, Scissors, as it is better known) at a young age to prepare for the Olympics. We would do several hand exercises such as high-fives and thumb wrestling. This would better improve our stamina and help us make wise decisions. We were also taught to read, write and speak fluent English so that we could read the wise tales of our ancestors and how they were able to dominate the sport.
When I was seven, I was able to read books about the proper strategies of Rochambeau, including the odds of someone selecting paper after choosing rock, or the probability someone would select a certain choice after making the same selection as the opponent (if me and my opponent were to choose scissors at the same time). After six years of reading books on how to better my Rochambeau techniques, I took it to the regional level and competed in the Southern California District I Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center. There were 6,414 entrants, but I was determined to place in the top 10.
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