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The Summer Olympics in Atlanta |
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We got tickets to 22 different sessions, for 13 different sports, including: gymnastics, baseball, field hockey, tennis, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, soccer (football, for the rest of the world), water polo, track and field, archery, mountain bike racing, and wrestling. For an idea of how busy we were, take a look at our list of tickets.
The Olympics lasted from July 19th to August 4th, and we were in town from July 20th to August 3rd. And for most of the time, we were really busy. When it was all over, we were exhausted. Actually, after the first week we were exhausted, but we survived for the second week. If I ever get the chance to go to the Olympics again, I won't try to go to so many events. It would be perfectly fine to watch some of them on TV. And I'd also plan some time to sleep. One night we were at an event until midnight (and didn't get home until after 1:00am) and then had to get to another event at 8:00am the next morning (so we were awake before 6:00am).
I took a BUNCH of pictures during those two weeks. I think it was 12 or 13 rolls of film. Some day I will scan some of the pictures and add them here, but don't hold your breath.
I'll always remember the great athletics that I saw during the Olympics. But I'll also always remember some other moments, including:
- The "Nosebleed" Section
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We were lucky enough to get tickets for the Women's Gymnastics Team
Finals, which was great because that was one of the most requested
sessions. It was exciting to watch the USA win the gold medal, but what
I'll remember most were our seats. Gymnastics took place at the Geogia
Dome, and our seats were in the ABSOLUTE TOP ROW. If it would be a small
arena, the top row wouldn't be very bad, but the Georgia Dome is where the
Atlanta Falcons play their NFL games - it is NOT a small arena. My camera
has a 3X zoom lens, and even with that it's difficult to tell who I took
pictures of. But if I'd have to choose the nosebleed section or not
seeing it at all, I'll pick the nosebleed section any day.
- Avoiding the Rain
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One morning our first event to watch was a basketball game, in the Georgia
Dome. We had to wait a while before they would let anybody in. Usually
that wouldn't be a problem, but that morning the rain was just pouring
down. We had left in a hurry that morning, and didn't think of bringing
along umbrellas. So, it looked like we were going to get soaked. But, we
met a nice family that had a giant golf umbrella. They had a little bit
of extra room, so Shawn and I were able to fit under the edge of the
umbrella, and we managed to keep about 3/4 of our bodies dry. When it was
almost time for the doors to open, we realized that there were shorter
lines at a different set of doors. We wanted to go that direction, but we
were so packed under the umbrella that we couldn't just walk like normal.
We could have just walked, but then we would have gotten soaked. So, we
all stayed under the umbrella, took tiny little steps, and eventually made
it over to the other doors. We probably looked pretty funny, but at least
we stayed dry.
- Living with the Rain
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One of the soccer games that we watched was Argentina versus Spain, which
took place in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the same day as the rainy
basketball game (from the story above) when we forgot to bring along any
rain gear. We arrived at the stadium without our rain gear, and then
tried to find some way to stay dry. A poncho would have been great, but
we were satisfied with the garbage bags that somebody gave to us. They
would keep our bodies dry, but our heads would still get wet and the water
would run down our necks and still get us wet. So, we each bought a
souvenir, just so we could get another plastic bag. These bags were just
the right size to make a hat. We had to look like fools, but at least we
were dry. Just as we were leaving, the rain stopped and the sun came out.
- Hot, Hot, Hot
- Almost every day, it was HOT. I guess I
expected that of Atlanta, but never before did I appreciate air
conditioning so much. Each night we would fill up a couple of 1.5 liter
water bottles and put them in the freezer. In the morning, they'd be
mostly frozen, and they'd supply cold water for most of the day. The
single hottest day that I remember was when we watched mountain bike
racing. It might not have been the hottest day of all, but it sure felt
that way. The finish line area was packed, so we wandered around the
course to find a less crowded spot (and a shady spot). We saw the winners
finish the men's race, and it was so hot we decided to leave and not watch
the women's race. But our viewing area was on the inside of the race
circuit. To leave, we needed to cross the path of the race, but we
couldn't because there were still racers that had to come through. So, we
were part of probably a couple thousand people waiting for the path to
open up so we could leave. And on the other side of the track were
probably a couple thousand other people that wanted to cross the track to
get onto our side. Finally we got through, only to walk quite a ways more
on a hot, black, blacktopped path. At one spot there were people with a
hose, spraying people with nice, refreshing, cool water.
- Sardines
- Before the Olympics, I could only imagine what sardines feel like.
Now I know, after riding MARTA (the subway/train). I've heard that Tokyo
is worse, but I hope that I'll never experience that. At first we just
joined the herd of people waiting to load/unload. After a while we became
a little more educated and learned how to find the shortest lines and the
fastest moving lines. At the time it might not have seemed like a lot of
fun, but it's a LOT better than using a car. I wish more people would
give up their cars and take mass transit more often.
- An Arm and a Leg
- At most sporting events, or anything where a large crowd congregates
into a staduim, the food costs an arm and a leg. The Olympics were no
different. I agree that a glass of Coca-Cola tastes really good
sometimes, but I doubt that each and every glass is worth three or four
dollars. My favorite thing was sort of a cross between lemonade and ice
and ice cream. They were also three or four dollars, but they tasted
great and they were nice and cold on the hot days, so I figured any price
was worth it.
There were many more memorable parts of my trip to the Atlanta Olympics, and some day I'll add some more here, along with some pictures.