That's what I thought as I watched a promotional video shot by Bear Grylls and a host of famous faces.
Too often as we grow we think we can reach the unattainable and of course the world tells us that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. Well that's not strictly true.
Every time we have a football match or tennis match on television, youngsters will watch and dream of the day when they will play at Wembley or Wimbledon. There's just one thing wrong with this. You can have all the determination in the world but to get to the top you need unbelievable ability. And I think the Media and the powers that be can rather raise expectations.
Every time they go the the school of a top sportsman we get the same tag line. One day one of these youngsters could be playing at the Olympic Games/Cup Final/etc. It is usually accompanied by a camera shot of a youngster completely missing a football/tennis ball. Yet every one of those kids think that they can play sport at a top level. They are aiming for the impossible.
Every time we have a World Cup or Wimbledon, youngsters are out in their droves playing football or tennis. That enthusiasm usually lasts a couple of weeks before they realise that they are never going to be an Andy Murray or (now) an Emma Raducanu. They realise that just hitting the ball over the net is much harder than they thought.
All that of course makes Emma Raducanu's win in the US Open Tennis even the more remarkable. I stayed up late and found myself hitting every ball. There aren't words to describe this triumph. Former British Number One tennis player Tim Henman even called it "a joke". He wasn't being rude about what she had achieved. In fact completely the opposite. He was just saying "this kind of thing doesn't happen."
Emma had to win three qualifying matches just to get into the raw in the main competition. She won the final without dropping a single set. So not only had a qualifier never won a major grand slam tournament, but never has one been won so convincingly.
And the best thing is she did it all with a smile on her face. All too often in the modern age we hear about the struggles of top sportsman and women. It was so refreshing to find one with an attitude of "I'm hear to enjoy myself."
When she was asked about the pressure she was under once she had reached the final she said something along the lines of "I'm a qualifier I'm not supposed to be here so what pressure?"
But back to the Grylls video. I'm glad it suggests just being the best you can because this is the crux of the matter. Visit any school in the country and the chance of watching a champion of the future is infinitesimally small. The counter argument to that is of course that at the present time there are future champions at schools throughout the country. But by and large we should all be aiming just to be the best we can in sport and in life itself. We can't all be champions.
* * *
I have been asked by Hethersett Hall Care Home to invite local residents to an art exhibition of the work of their residents. This will be on October 5th from 6.30 pm and everyone is invited. During lockdown the residents enjoyed zoom sessions with a local artist. Now those lessons have continued on a face to face basis. I am intrigued to see the results and will be writing a piece for the local media.
Yesterday we did another of the heritage walks in Norwich and this blog features some of the photos I took during that tour which covered more of the history of the city.
Tomorrow I will bring you the fascinating story of Walter Eghe.