True athletic power is characterized by grace, sensitivity, inner quiet, and paradoxically, gentleness in the noncompetitive lives of even fierce competitors. We celebrate the champion because we recognize that he has overcome personal ambition through sacrifice and dedication to a higher principle. The great become legendary when they teach by example. It is not what they have, nor what they do, but what they have become that inspires all of mankind, and it is that which we honor in them. We should seek to protect their humility from the forces of exploitation that accompany acclaim in the
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