In a few short months, the 2004 Olympics will take place in Athens, Greece. How exciting. We have terrorism running rampant all over the world, we have steroids and other banned substances taking some of the best athletes out of the games (and for many others casting a long shadow over them...i.e. Marion Jones) and we also have the fact that some of the buildings are being put together with duct tape to make sure they are ready for the Games.
I honestly have to say this is one year I am not looking forward to the Olympics. I hope the Games come and go without any problems. I hope it restores some of the peacefulness in the world. What are the chances of that though? What are the chances of any terrorist activity not takin place? It scares me. Honestly it does.
I completely understand many of the American basketball players not wanting to go over to Athens this summer. Many of the players havent given this as a direct excuse but I'm sure it's what many of them are thinking. Plus the fact, that lets say Shaq and Kobe were playing; they would have a month off or so before getting back for the NBA season. Thats another story for another time. There is no chance I would want to go over there with all that is going on in the world. Nobody can guarantee 100% that nothing is going to happen.
I do have some fond memories of the Olympics. Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, the Dream Team, the Miracle on Ice (of course this was the winter Olympics, but the Olympics none the less), Ben Johnson seemingly beating every other sprinter by five yards only to have his Gold medal snatched for steroids, Kerri Strug and the womens gymnastics team in 1996, etc. (How often do you see a male 20-something tear up during a womens vault? Not often.)
I hope these Olympics go off without a hitch. I honestly do.
My Top 8 Olympic Memories
1. Ben Johnson crushing all the top sprinters including Carl Lewis. Yet that was all reversed.
2. Kerri Strug injuring herself on her first vault only to limp back, do it again perfectly and give the US womens gymnastics team the gold medal in 1996.
3. The Dream Team. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Did they really need to play the tournament? Did they think the Lithuanian team could beat us?
4. The Miracle on Ice. The Russians were completely dominant in the years before the Americans beat them. And thats why they play the games folks...
5. Marion Jones wins three gold medals (100m, 200m, 4x400m relay) and two bronze medals (long jump, 4x400m relay) at the 2000 Olympic Games. Her feat makes her the only woman ever to win five track & field medals at a single Olympic Games.
6. Michael Johnson sets what many consider to be a virtually unbreakable record, running 19.32 seconds in the 200 meters at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He also won the 400 meter gold to become the only man in history to win both the 200 and 400 meters at a single Olympic Games.
7. Carl Lewis wins his ninth gold medal, and fourth long jump gold, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He becomes only the second man in Olympic history to win four golds in a single event, and the second man to win 9 gold medals overall.
8. Vince Carter dunking over a 7 footer in 2000. Who else remembers this? That was crazy. Should it be one of the top 8? Eh. Whatever.
ry
3 comments:
All very good ones, indeed...
A few more that stand out in my mind:
'84-- LA was the earliest Olympics that I am old enough to actually remember (I was 5), and long before our gold medal team, all of us little gymnasts had Mary Lou Retton as our hero. 4 medals, including the gold for the individual all-around... she was my all time favorite gymnast, hands down.
'88-- Matt Biondi nailing seven medals, including 5 golds (50 and 100 free, and anchoring the 400 and 800 free and 400 medley relays). If he came through in the 100 fly and 200 free, we would all be comparing Michael Phelps to him instead of Mark Spitz.
'96-- USA Women's Soccer. led by Brandi and Mia, and Softball led by Dr. Dot Richardson adn Lisa Fernandez winning the Gold on home soil, in the first competitions in those sports.
2000-- US Men's soccer's sweet little run (until the semis anyways). and maybe my overall favorite.... Tom Dolan smoking his own world record in the 400 IM, arguably the most grueling of the swimming events. What makes this one so sweet is that he suffers from severe asthma, and spent the entire afternoon leading up to this race in the hospital on an oxygen tank, not knowing if he would be able to swim that night. For most of the race, he couldn't even feel his legs or arms... but he just wanted revenge on the Aussies for the relays. I know I cried, when I saw him crying and celebrating when it was over.
And for good measure, a couple winter performances: 1) Jonny Mosely's gold medal performance on the Moguls, with the 360 mute grab, and even better 4 yrs later, the Dinner Roll. That really should have won also, but the judging panel is so conservative that it will be yrs before stuff like that wins. 2) the Medal sweep at home on the Men's Halfpipe 3) The 4-man Bobsledding Medals (one of the track coaches at my old school, Doug Sharp, was on the silver med
How 'bout that figure skating?? I LOVED Kristi Yamaguchi in Albertville '92...and of course, Oksana Baiul in Lillehammer '94.
The past several Winter games have been dismal, as far as US ladies' skating is concerned. Lackluster, one-dimensional divas like Sarah Hughes and Tara Lipinski have been nightmares for this sport. They basically won gold medals on flukes...one-hit-wonders.
NO ONE...I repeat NO ONE...has the staying power, grace, artistry, and BEAUTY of Michelle Kwan. This year's World's performance notwithstanding...we NEED to see Michelle back in '06...with the long-awaited and worked-for gold medal!
I find it ironic that you list the Dream Team as a great Olympic memory on the same list as the Miracle on Ice memory. The Miracle on Ice was called just that because the Soviet team was comprised of highly skilled professional players, the best in Europe. The great feeling came from the fact that a group of American college hockey players who were pieced together only months earlier beat the equivalent of a hockey Dream Team. The American hockey team was comprised of actual amateurs beating a team of seasoned hockey stars.
The basketball Dream Team came to be after the USA's amateur teams stopped dominating international play. Apparently, spirited competition is not what we as Americans really want in sports. The novelty has worn off and representing the country doesn't mean as much to the NBA players. The first Dream Team was a collection of truly great basketball players and a way for America to remind the world that it was still the world's basketball power. Now that the USA sends professionals to every Olympics, it has become the Soviet hockey team of 1980.
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