The Team USA House at Palais Brongniart sports the red, white and blue of the U.S. flag and offers a home base for fans to cheer on Team USA athletes. (Photo by Alexis Heichman/Special for Cronkite News)
PARIS – In front of the Team USA House at Palais Brongniart, red white and blue clad visitors make their way in and out of the historic site at the 16th Arrondissement with no shortage of enthusiasm. The overcast skies with waiting rain had little effect on the excitement and anticipation of the night’s opening ceremony, as fans prepared to brave the elements and greet their nation’s top athletes at the Seine River and watch parties across Paris.
While one can combat some raindrops with an umbrella, staying dry beneath the political downpour stateside isn’t so achievable. In an age of turmoil and division from the White House to the grassroots, the ever-growing rifts and divisions seen in the U.S. today have arguably reached an all-time high. Even in an election year, for the next two weeks, the drama of U.S. politics at least has a headline competitor with the Olympics, where whom you’re voting for takes a backseat to simply being an American, whether competing for or cheering on the Stars and Stripes.
In a year where the political pressure cooker has already popped several times with more steam certainly on the way, Paralympic and Olympic Committee Brand & Fan Engagament Chief Jess Park had her hands full in her first Olympic Games at her position. As the U.S. prepared for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, it was her responsibility to find the tying knot every American athlete and supporter can get behind. Such a task in the current political climate is a challenge even the most cunning and creative mind could struggle to overcome.
Park, a former executive in marketing for popular global institutions ranging from Spotify to the NBA, has plenty of experience bringing diverse audiences under one roof. Her go-to strategy now was to tap into the commonality that every American shares through nationality.
“I think about how we lean into community,” Park said. “How do we think about ways people can find themselves in the team? We have an incredible opportunity to reach such a broad audience. This country is as diverse as our team, and something bigger than themselves.”
Through this thinking, Park and her marketing team hatched the moniker “One For All” as the official rallying cry behind Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games. Shortly and sweetly calling on each athlete and spectator to do their part in America’s pursuit of glory at the Games, even with all the vitriol going on at home, gave a seemingly effortless edict a powerful message to the target audience: the American.
“America’s never been more divided since the ‘60s maybe,” said Steve McNitt, a visiting American. “But, this is how the Olympics is supposed to come. ‘Let’s come together, let’s show some pride in our nation, and let’s be united one for all. Let’s show the world what we’re about.’”
Park’s approach to forming unity in support behind Team USA has resonated in the competing athletes as well. Whether in a team or individual event, U.S. athletes in the Olympic Village see the slogan as a reminder of their arduous processes that earned them the chance to compete on the world’s stage and the patriotism that helped fuel those chases.
“To represent your country is everything,” U.S. men’s water polo captain Ben Hallock said. “It’s what you dream about as a kid. When I would turn it on and watch Michael Phelps winning medals, you hear the anthem and it’s everything you can dream of, that pride that you feel. To now be able to put in the work to try to feel that pride for yourself is something special.”
Hallock’s sentiments were not specific to his sport or gender, but universally accepted as a facilitating factor among all U.S. athletes.
“Representation of all the things that the U.S. is incredibly important,” Kelsey Bing of women’s field hockey said. “It’s what it encompasses.”
Not only a moniker of motivation, but “One For All” has helped raise public support for Team USA Athletes and staff as the country prepares to host the Summer Games in 2028 at Los Angeles. This campaign set out a goal of raising $500 million for athlete benefits and support as the countdown to L.A. starts in two weeks.
The broad enclosure provided by “One For All” as a slogan bridges the political and athletic gap at least temporarily over the course of the Games. Whether Republican or Democrat, off the field or on, everyone behind Uncle Sam has a place in the USOPC’s rallying cry.
“We were really looking to create a sense of belonging for folks,” Park said. “I think that’s what people crave from the Olympics and Paralympics. The magic of this campaign is that it is in everything we do. That energy is something we’re going to be infusing in everything we do in Paris.
“We’re really excited for everybody to find themselves in ‘One For All.’”