The Olympics has come and gone and that’s a sad thing.

It’s sad for us, but it’s also sad for the Olympians, who realize their glory days are over and now must get a regular 9-5 job.

But most of these athletes are not too interested in the 9-5 life. I know because I work with some of them. They have given blood, sweat and tears for one brief moment in time and then what?

I read a piece in this newspaper last week by Christy Hinko titled “Olympians soar to new heights with Cirque.”

Ms. Hinko interviewed two former Olympians who had become regulars at Cirque du Soleil. So that is one thing former Olympians can quest for.

And in the event that you’re not familiar with Cirque du Soleil, let me give you a brief synopsis.

This Canadian circus group was started in Canada in 1984 by two fire-eating street performers, Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix. From those humble beginnings, it has grown into a worldwide phenomenon with 4,000 employees and an annual revenue of over $1 billion.

To gain a coveted position in this troupe, you must be a world-class gymnast, but in addition, you must be capable of becoming a high-level dancer, have stage presence, learn great acting skills, sing well, and remain more or less invulnerable to injury. In other words you have to be either superman or superwoman.

I bought my ticket this weekend and had a chance to see them in the new 19,000-seat UBS Arena in Elmont.

Since I had never seen a circus before, I was excited to see the show. My only connections with the circus is through film or literature.

The Fellini film masterpiece “8 ½“ ended in a circus ring, with all of the characters holding hands and dancing around the outer edge of the ring. The ending contained charm, ease, and loving forgiveness for all the sins Fellini had committed throughout the film.

In literature, the American essayist E.B. White wrote “The Ring of Time,” which is considered a great American essay. The essay is about the mesmerizing experience of watching a girl in the Ringling Brothers Circus in Sarasota, Fla., go through her practice routine riding bareback on a big horse that went around the ring.

White managed to express the dignity, beauty and innocence of youth he witnessed in that circus girl. Needless to say we’ve come a long way from Ringling Brothers.

My favorite account of the circus is by Nietzsche in “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.”

At the beginning of this book he describes a man on a high wire who is walking across the tight rope as the crowd watches from below.

The man falls and dies and the crowd disperses without a second thought. With this Nietzsche goes on to explain how the human race is on this tight rope.

On one side is our animal nature, mankind is the rope itself and and the brave ones walk to the other side where they achieve an “Ubermensch,” or superman status.

He felt the only way we could become fully human and improve our race was to muster up enough courage, willpower, discipline, and hope to take the risk of the high wire by leaving fear, laziness, and impulse behind.

These athletes who are now employed by Cirque du Soleil, are Nietzsche’s “Ubermensch”or Super Men, for they are brave enough to risk their lives for our entertainment. So, thank you for the inspiration.