the games begin

I love the Olympics. When they are on, I am fully capable of vegging out in front of the TV for two solid weeks. I am a big fan of pomp and ceremony, and the Olympics always provide that in spades. Another thing I love is watching athletes and their fans celebrate a victory. One of my favorite moments in baseball is the dogpile at homeplate after a big win -- grown men hugging each other, jumping up and down, pounding each other on the head. When watching the Olympics, similar scenes are repeated several times a day. It gives me shivers and makes me smile, and you can't beat that.

In 2000, we had just gotten our TiVo, and it was amazing -- being able to fast forward through all the commercials, touching Olympic moments, and sports in which I have no interest such as boxing and weightlifting made it ten times easier to watch. So I've been looking forward to this year for awhile. I actually got a chance to watch the opening ceremonies this time, and aside from wanting Bob Costas to put a sock in it, I enjoyed them a great deal. The Greeks put on a great parade of art history, the floats featuring people recreating iconic images from art. Greek vases, Minoan paintings, a phalanx of kore, Athena and karyatids come to life. But my favorite part, as always, was the parade of nations. Exuberant athletes from hundreds of countries celebrating the achievement of their lifetimes -- win or lose, they can all say that they are Olympians. New to me were the video cameras that so many of them were carrying, capturing the moment for posterity so they can show their grandchildren: I was there.

Definitely looking forward to the next two weeks.