With all due respect to Mark, there is a love affair I have had for 40 years. I love the Olympics. My Olympian love affair began in 1972 with the Sapporo Winter Olympics. I remember watching skating and ski jumping, and thinking how cool it all was.
Munich hosted the Summer Olympics that year, and it was a mixture of wonder and horror. I was glued to the TV as I watched Olga Korbut, Bruce Jenner, Frank Shorter and Mark Spitz It was simply awe inspiring to watch these athletes.
The horror as know was the raid on the Israeli athletes, by members of the Black September Palestinian terror group. Watching the events unfold was disturbing. Men in masks had invaded what was a celebration of peace and sport, and turned it into a nightmare. All the athletes died in a shoot out at the airport, and the Olympics mourned.
From the darkness of the 1972 Olympics, came the return of the celebration of sport with the 1976 Montreal Games. My love with the Olympics was forever solidified when my parents took me to the Games. I was in the stadium when Queen Elizabeth opened the Games. I watched Greg Louganis begin his quest for Olympic success. I was at The Forum when history was made as Nadia Commenci scored the first perfect score in gymnastics. We had a neighbor who won a Bronze medal in the backstroke. I actually got to see the medal(thrilling).
The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics were a huge spectacle of sport and pageantry. Mary Lou Retton, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Joan Benoit, Moses Malone, and so many more. I was in college at the time, and discovered the Olympics were a bonding event. I discovered other people loved watching as much as I did, as the student union was always packed with students watching the games, instead of going to our summer classes.
No matter the year, the season, for the 2+ weeks the Olympics are on, I am watching. I love the competition. I love the athlete profiles. I love the spectacle. I love it all. Whether it's curling, skating, track and field, gymnastics, or table tennis, I watch it all.
Time to get settled in for another Olympics. The love affair continues.
Charlie
2 comments:
Wow, I didn't know you got to attend the Montreal Olympics! How incredibly cool :)
My favorite memory of the 1984 Olympics? The many pianos, Gershin's "Rhapsody in Blue." lol!
What are your favorite media sources for Olympic coverage, either via TV or online?
I prefer TV, but with work, I will have the computer with me.
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