I can’t help it. I’m an Olympics fanatic.
Over the past two weeks I’ve stayed up late to watch the world’s top athletes swim, leap, run, dive and bump their way toward the medal stands. In the morning, I can hardly wait to turn on my computer and check the latest news from Beijing.
I know I’m not the only one.
My mom confessed that she had to keep the TV turned off recently to get to bed at a decent hour. My grandma and her sister have watched competition after competition, often until the last minute of news for the night. I can’t blame them. It’s really the best excuse I can think of to explain missing a little bit of sleep this summer.
But as the world’s Games and all the excitement fades for another four years, what will fanatics like me remember? Without a doubt, the record-breaking eight gold medals won by American swimmer Michael Phelps are unforgettable. I’ve watched him race with great admiration and respect. I listened when radio DJs read off a list of Phelps’ daily food intake. But he’s certainly not the only golden memory of these Games.
American swimmer Natalie Coughlin also earned her spot in the record books by earning six medals in Beijing — the most earned in a single game by an American female athlete and retained her gold position in the 100-meter backstroke for the second consecutive Games. I won’t easily forget watching her U.S.A Swimming teammate Aaron Peirsol win gold in the men’s 100-meter backstroke or Jason Lezak’s extraordinary finish in the last leg of the men’s 400-meter relay that, quite frankly, kept Phelps’ golden conquest alive.
I’ll admit I’ve enjoyed the extra attention to swimming — my favorite sport — immensely this Olympics. But I also know several people who wore pink to cheer American gymnast Nastia Liukin following her all-around gold. Still others who keep accurate count of the number of volleyball matches won by Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh or those who continually keep a close eye on the overall medal count.
True, medals are exciting. But the medals are there to be earned and records are made to be broken. What makes Olympic fever truly contagious are the personal stories we share, not all of which involve an American athlete or a medal.
I loved watching Jamaican track and field athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sherone Simpson and Keron Williams sweep the 100-meter event and Chinese diver He Chong compete in this week’s 3-meter springboard preliminaries. Before the Games are complete, I plan to watch more track and field, soccer and baseball. Who knows, maybe I’ll even watch some table tennis.
The Games have been a constant source of conversation between families, friends and total strangers throughout the world for over two weeks. It’s been a nice reminder that even in the age of pop culture, iPods, cell phones and way too many distractions that sports still excite, inspire and engage us. I can’t wait for the next Olympic Games and hopefully, the chance to one day experience Olympic excitement firsthand.
Amy Daybert is editor of The Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Enterprise.
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