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Doug Lennox' Beijing Blog #3: The Opening Ceremonies
August 20, 2008 | Men's Swimming and Diving
In the third part of Doug Lennox' blog at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Princeton tri-captain looks back fondly on the spectacular Opening Games.
First off, sorry for the major delay. I've talked about what it feels like to be in the daily routine of an athlete preparing for his events in the village, in training and in transit. Now, a more special event will be discussed. On August 8, 2008 the official beginning to the Games (as opposed to the unofficial beginning when football began two days prior on August 6th) occurred. The festivities were outstanding! Everything was rescheduled or changed today. Instead of sleeping in and training at the time of choice in the Bubble, people were forced to work out early or settle for training in the village pool. I chose to get up early, but that wasn't so bad. This day was amazing for the participants. All day long, there was an energy on the village campus and it radiated from everyone while they did normal activities. I found myself super excited, pacing pretty solid times (much better than I was able to hold later in my race, unfortunately) from the push. I had been warned that especially on this day people tend to let emotions really amp them up and have a kind of decline shortly after. For this reason, adrenaline had to be held in check as best as possible, and to remain focused while taking in the experience.
At about 5 p.m. we began preparing for the ceremonies. After a quick rest, we put on our outfits. The Puerto Rican women complained that they looked like flight attendants, while the guys just looked sharp. We all, however, wondered why the delegation chose to wear semi-formal clothing as opposed to more traditional garb, but it wasn't anything that we truly were worried about. We gathered outside of our building and took pictures together and while we were doing that we spotted a throng of people across the courtyard. Right there in the flesh was the first major sports celebrity we would see this evening: Roger Federer! Roger was signing autographs and taking pictures while he joked with his delegation about how he was old (it was his birthday on 8/8/08) and this really excited me for the beginning of the Games. To see athletes like him enjoying the experience was an indication to me of how special it is not just for the guys whose every move is documented, but also those who are standing in the crowd gathered around the world's favorite sports heroes. Everyone in the village plays some part in the unfolding of the Games and everyone earned their place. This place, this village, this opening ceremony is a celebration for just that. Welcome to the big show!
The participants in the opening ceremonies were all bussed to the National Indoor Stadium, which is primarily used for gymnastics. The raucous noise from the crowd of 91,000+ people in the Bird's Nest could be heard from the National Indoor Stadium and it prompted the participants to get a little excited too. While we were all waiting to march out, the Jamaican delegation and the Australian delegation seemed to prompt multiple attempts at the wave, and it worked a few times, but overall it was a pretty poor display of the wave...certainly nothing like the wave at a University of Michigan football game. Slowly but surely the delegations were brought out in front of the people of the world -- and I mean very, very slowly. It seemed like an eternity for all of us seated in the blistering heat of a crowded indoor stadium in full dress. Even after we began our trek over to the Bird's Nest we only realized that we would have to stand in line for a good hour or so before we even hit the track and could be officially recognized as the Puerto Rican delegation. This part wasn't horrible though because outside there were tons of Chinese volunteers and spectators without tickets that were cheering everyone as they passed by. In the spirit of the Games, the Puerto Ricans decided to begin chants and talk with these people as much as possible, so it wasn't uncommon for other countries to hear roars coming from our area. We walked next to the Polish group and the French group, so they were astounded with how energetic our small group was and how riled up we got the people. We yelled things like "Hello, China!", "We love you, Beijing!", and "You're beautiful!" (but the last only to the women of choice, obviously).
The anticipation we felt as we stood on the line just before we would be announced to the world was incredible. It was almost as if we were not yet Olympians, but in moments we would be welcomed into this most prestigious club. With a video camera in my left hand and a small Puerto Rican flag waving in my right, three different announcers excitedly announced the arrival of the Puerto Ricans in three different languages. We stepped out of the air conditioning (the only places with air conditioning tonight were the bus and the hallway just before the track) and were welcomed with a brick wall of heat, sweat, and loud cheers for the newest group to arrive. Very quickly my arms grew tired, my face stiff from the constant smiling, and my eyes itchy from the thick air. Nonetheless, I enjoyed our lap of fame, and somehow I managed to spot my family cheering from their section and the night was made complete with their inclusion in the experience.
From 5 p.m. until 2 a.m. we were immersed in the jubilee known as the opening ceremonies. The likes of Lebron, Kobe, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobli, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Jackie Chan made these ceremonies most exciting. Once the Flame was lit on that dark evening my inauguration into this seemingly sacred society concurrently told everyone across the world that the Games had begun. If it was not obvious enough, Jaques Rogge ended the night by saying: "Let the Games begin!" And so they did...