Aug 24 2008
Glad It Is Over
Beijing Olympics is over today. I think many people I know are letting out a sigh of relief. Given so many misfortunes and unrests happened earlier this year, the summer Olympics once felt like a giant bubble ready to pop. Now it is over, all of a sudden, it dawned on me that 2008 was the best Olympics in my life time.
Not that I wish it happens again any time soon. Like the Pyramids, and many other human spectacles in history, the success of Olympics is built on the sacrifices and sufferings of counterless unnamed. If Acropolis is a reminder of Athenian democracy, and the Great Wall determined national defense, what is being immortalized by the statdiums? Prosperity? At $2000 per capita, that is a stretch.
Here are some of the good and the bad as I saw them:
The Good:
The competitions! Really a treat for a sports fan. In the States, I missed watching volleyball, handball and track/field. Bu now I have them all together. Badminton is always fun (watching the top players play gives me a sensation of watching human pin-balls). The marathon run around the city and the road bike race to the Great Wall were very photogenic. Although I don’t care for diving or gymnastics, they are surprisingly competitive even to my layman’s eye.
The soccer match between the Nigeria and Belgium is one of the most memorable in my life time. Had there not been so much Michael Phelps (over) coverage, I would have enjoyed swimming even more.
Track is perhaps the most exciting. I played so many ball games in my life, but I don’t always feel an adrenaline surge before every match. Track is different. I can always recall how hard my heart pumped every time I stood behind the starting line. The sensation of turning the last curve and seeing the finish line at the end of the track is beyond words. It is fair to say I play balls for fun but run for the adrenaline.
Yesterday, watched the marathon live on NBC. When the Kenyan runner (he was just so graceful) entered the stadium, the first shot was from his back with the bright light at the end of the tunnel in front of him. Immediately, the view switched to another camera that panned in half the stadium. When the dimunitive runner figure emerged from the tunnel, I could see the stadium erupted in cheers. I trembled. Good God.
The Bad:
I will save it for another day.
I missed a lot of games for the Olympics. I don\’t like watching taped sports competitions, except the great ones. Anyway, I can\’t wait to see Beijing after the Olympics in person!