Patriotism, competition, security converge as curtain rises on 2002 Winter Olympics

By Pauline Arrillaga

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY – The stage is set, the stars have arrived and the scene-stealer – a frail flag symbolizing one nation’s recovery and resilience – awaits its worldwide debut.

With snow-covered mountains as a backdrop, the curtain is ready to rise Friday night on the first Winter Olympics on U.S. soil in more than two decades. Too much snowfall in those mountains postponed some practices and one early event Friday, however.

Just as 22 years ago in Lake Placid, N.Y., chants of “USA! USA!” will ring on the streets and slopes from fans attired in red, white and blue. But these spectators will have more company than usual, in the form of soldiers, Secret Service agents and police.

For the 17-day 2002 Winter Games, patriotism, unprecedented security and emotional competition will come together in a nation made more vigilant and passionate by terrorism and war.

“The flame, the flag – a lot of the ideals we hope to touch on are going to be more meaningful because of the time we live in,” said Don Mischer, producer of Friday’s opening ceremony.

The Olympic flame arrived in Salt Lake City Thursday in the last leg of a 13,500-mile, 46-state journey toward its final destination: the extravaganza at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium.

Also arriving – snow. While it was just enough to cover streets and sidewalks in Salt Lake City, heavier accumulations in the mountains early Friday delayed ski jump qualifications, the first competition of the games. It also postponed or canceled practice runs for luge and the men’s and women’s downhills.

The Friday night ceremony and the contest that follow will take place under the tightest security ever at an Olympics. With America still on alert after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a 16,000-member force is on hand to patrol Olympic grounds and the skies above.

“Now that perhaps the most terrible terrorist incident in the world’s history has happened on our shores, it calls for a very serious response to terrorism and to protecting our people and our guests,” Salt Lake City organizing chief Mitt Romney said. “Does that mean it’s impossible for anything bad to happen? Of course not.”

American speed skater Amy Peterson wasn’t worried.

“I’ve never felt safer in my life,” said Peterson, competing in her fifth Olympics.

Authorities quickly dispensed with one possible threat Thursday. Police detonated a suspicious package – a plastic grocery bag filled with fuses and electrical wire – found in a parking garage three blocks from the Olympic media center.

Despite security concerns, 55,000 spectators will attend the opening ceremony, enduring long waits in frigid temperatures to pass through metal detectors and have their belongings searched.

President Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan were scheduled to attend the event, which is expected to juggle American patriotism and Olympic protocol.

Bush, as head of state, will officially open the games as directed by Olympic rules. He arrived in Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon and was meeting U.S. athletes in a session also attended by four members of the New York Port Authority, the agency that lost 37 employees in the World Trade Center collapse.

In remarks prepared for delivery, Bush said the competition will celebrate the same ideals displayed by firefighters, police and other heroes of Sept. 11.

“We believe that these ideals – liberty and freedom – make it possible for people to live together in peace, and the Olympics give the world a chance in the middle of a difficult struggle to celebrate international peace and cooperation,” Bush said.

Reversing an earlier decision, the International Olympic Committee agreed Wednesday to let Americans carry a flag recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center into the stadium. Eight U.S. athletes, joined by New York police and firefighters, will carry the tattered Stars and Stripes in a solemn tribute before the parade of nations.

The flag, Romney said, is “a tribute not only to Americans but to citizens from 80 nations who were lost in that tragic event.”

Organizers had planned for the flag to fly at the celebration but determined it was too delicate. Peterson will carry another flag on behalf of the U.S. team.

Competition begins in earnest Saturday with events in moguls, cross-country skiing, hockey, figure skating and speed skating.

More than 2,500 athletes from 77 countries are participating in the games, which are expected to draw up to 80,000 spectators a day. The program is the largest for a Winter Olympics, with 78 events. That includes 10 new or returning events, including women’s bobsled, and skeleton, a headfirst version of luge.

While security was a dominant presence – even athletes were forced to wait outside the Olympic Village while their bags were searched – it didn’t detract from the spirit of the games.

The excitement was evident in Cheryl Joe, who will spend the Olympics in a ticket booth miles from the skiing and sledding that she will never get the chance to see.

Joe, a Navajo Indian, is downright giddy about being in that booth – and eager for the games to begin.

“I love it. It’s awesome. It’s great,” she said from her post outside the Discover Navajo cultural exhibit.

“I’m sooo ready,” she said. “Let’s go!”