Practice and graciousness

Tonight's Olympic thought is two-fold: practice and graciousness. Shaun White, snowboarder extraordinaire, placed fourth in the halfpipe. Known as the best in the world, he was widely expected to win, and it was a major upset for him to be off the podium entirely. Conditions on the pipe were problematic at best, and he was unable to practice for three days. He cited that as a major issue when he graciously said, "it just wasn't my night." Which brings me to graciousness: he was fabulous to the gold medalist, who was clinging to his hero in a prolonged hug. Grace under the cloud of disappointment is part of the game too...even when you're a superstar.