Olympic Games

Is anybody else still stunned by the Beijing Opening Ceremonies? The clips I've seen are just exquisite.

Los Angeles hosted the 1984 Olympic Games when I was eleven. I sat inches from the television screen and watched the entire Opening Ceremonies. Music, fireworks, the procession of athletes onto the field, the torch run featuring some guy I had never heard of.

I took particular interest in Mary Decker's 3000 meter run against a bare footed Zola Budd. The media hype leading up to the event was intense but neither woman actually won the race. Decker fell on the field and was unable to continue. Budd finished seventh.

With the United States 1980 Olympic boycott coverage of the 1984 Games was as much about political vendettas as the actual events. Its hard for me to decipher whether I got caught up in the games as much as the allegory. In either case, my running efforts followed in the wake of the 1984 Games. I'd pull up my tube socks and sprint around the block. The lap closed as I landed in the kitchen for water and to check my time. The running route isn't dissimilar from my thirty-something efforts. The pace is slower but the route is relatively the same.

Naomi hit the ground running with the 2008 Olympic Games. Last night she wanted to know what fencing was. She was also curious why sand-volleyball players sport bikinis as their team uniform? The former question was pretty straight forward I have to confess the bikini-thing doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me either.

The Olympics, for me, conjure a sense of awe. I don't mean to over dramatize the situation and idolize athletes: nor do I mean to trivialize their accomplishments. I file Olympic athletes among any group of the accomplished and uber-dedicated. The Games showcase not just their talents but years of acute focus and excellence. Its a type of focus I admire and have never fostered in myself.

Anyway, for the next 14 days, don't be alarmed by an uncharacteristic obsession I have with the sports page. Every four-years I prove to be an Olympic glutton.