Hurrah for the Olympics!
I love the Olympics. I can remember Evelyn Ashford’s amazing relay finish during the 1984 Los Angeles games, the ‘88 Calgary opening ceremonies, but ‘88 Seoul is my first memory of following a games straight through. To this day, I can name in order the summer and winter games from that point on by year and host city.
I love all the hokey peace, love, and honor-to-compete messages of the games. I believe in the Olympic spirit and the Olympic movement. It’s eye rolling I know, but I’ve been watching and following diligently enough to know that it lives. I was in Atlanta during its summer games. The day after that bomb went off is one of my favorite memories.
All day, there was a swagger in people’s steps, a lift to their chins, a look in their eyes. We nodded to each other as if to say, “Thanks for coming out. We’re not going to let an act of terror beat us.” Overnight, metal detectors and bag searchers appeared at each venue’s doors. We lined up in the Atlanta heat, in good humor and in good order.
I’m writing this as I watch the opening ceremonies. The manpower organization and precision within the artistic portion was awe-inspiring. They had a lot of great ideas. The never-ending parade of nations is going on now. It’s always interesting to see how each country decides to dress its athletes. Oh, Canada, you are usually so reliably stylish. What happened?
Still, the biggest draw is the lighting of the caldron. Barcelona went and ruined a straightforward lighting for everyone by having an archer shoot the flame across half the stadium to fly over the rooftop basin. China has done everything so big so far. How is it going to answer the challenge?