OLYMPIC FEVER

OLYMPIC FEVER, August 12, 2008
The Beijing Summer Olympics started this past weekend and I can only say that I am hooked. I have watched everything from women’s soccer, men and women’s water polo, men and women’s beach volleyball, men and women’s cycling, men’s tennis, men’s basketball, and of course men and women’s swimming. Prior to the Games, most of the focus was on Michael Phelps and his quest for exceeding Mark Spitz’s record seven gold medals in one Olympics. So far, he has met or exceeded all of our expectations.
In the three races that Phelps has competed in so far, he has set three world records and won three gold medals. The 4x100 free relay on Sunday night was one of the best races I have ever seen (I swam growing up). The last 25 meter swim by Jason Lezak was amazing, especially taking into consideration that he caught the French world record holder after spotting him a little over a half a second at the start. The reactions of the US team are what the Olympics are all about. Michael Phelps flexing and screaming, Lezak pumping his fist while still in the pool, and the other two members of the relay team sharing in the moment. As Lezak swam the final 50 meters, the TV coverage focused on the US team cheering on their teammate. It was a sight to see.
However, it has not just been the focus on Phelps that has held my attention. Last night I stayed up to see the end of the men’s gymnastics. The US team was leading after three rotations, in second after four and basically had to hold on to capture the bronze medal on the last apparatus. After two sub-par routines, Alexander Artemev, the last of the Americans to compete, unleashed a big air-style performance on the pommel horse, the final event, to secure the medal. I don’t know anything about gymnastics, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the coverage. I was pumping my fist and screaming at the TV to try and give the US team a little more encouragement. I am sure that my neighbors appreciated my screaming after the first routine… I also watched the women’s soccer teams match this morning against New Zealand. The US team won 4-0. While this might not seem like a big deal, following the US teams 2-0 loss to Norway to open up the games, it was a huge win for the tournament favorites. I have not spent too much time watching the men’s “Redeem Team”, basketball games. I saw bits of both the game against China and today’s game against Angola. I guess that since these games are such blowouts and that the “dream teams” of the past have been such a disappointment, I didn’t want to get to wrapped up in the game. However, I was really impressed that the men’s team participated in the opening ceremony and also attended the women’s team opening game. It shows that they are interested in the rest of the US team and are cheering them on. That seems to be a very different mentality from past Olympics.
So far, these Olympics have been terrific. We can only hope that once the track and field portion starts that the US continues to play well. We can only hope that there are no drug scandals or anything else to take away from what the Olympics are all about. I know that a lot of folks were suspicious of China in hosting the games based upon their human rights record, but this is not the time to raise political issues, instead it is a time to cheer on the great athletes representing our country and each of us.