Enjoying the 2008 Beijing Olympics
After an incredibly busy and stressful week preparing for the intern presentation (in front of a client, our bosses, and a fourth of the office) on Friday and then moving from Chicago back home on Sunday, I am finally back in Michigan with a lot more free time on my hands. Fortunately, this nicely coincides with the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I love ice hockey in the Winter Olympics, but I certainly enjoy the Summer Olympics so much more because I get to watch sports that are typically harder to find on TV (beach volleyball, swimming, track & field, and gymnastics). So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed my Olympic viewing.
On Friday evening, I caught the very end of the delayed showing of the Opening Ceremony as I saw the lighting of the Olympic flame. It was just impressive. While earlier parts of the ceremony certainly had a more militaristic feel, the sheer number of participants kicking or dancing in perfect harmony just blew my mind. Then, Li Ning was lifted into the air by thin cables and then ran along the rim of the Bird’s Nest.
Then, as the cables slowly guided him around the inner rim of the roof, as if he were running, a digital scroll unfurled behind him with images of some of the thousands of other torch bearers who had carried the flame during its journey around the world this spring. The mesmerizing sight culminated with Mr. Li igniting a giant torch affixed to the roof.
As the flame was lit, fireworks went off surrounding the stadium and I was just blown away by the aesthetics of the ceremony finale. The 2008 Olympics started off in spectacular fashion, but the games have certainly lived up to their expectations.
Before I accepted my internship in Chicago, I was unofficially going to be the media relations intern for the US Swimming team this summer. I decided to go a different path, but I’ve been closely watching the swimming events and last night’s 4×100m men’s relay was truly spectacular.
Earlier yesterday, French swimmer Alain Bernard told the sports newspaper L’Equipe, “We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came for.” Michael Phelps, who spent the past four years in Ann Arbor (Go Blue!), likes to use those type of quotes as a motivational fuel. In the Olympics, you obviously want to see your country win. When you hear the French make a comment like that, you want your team to win even more.
After three of the four legs of the relay had gone, 32 year-old Jason Lezak dove into the water behind Bernard, who was swimming the last leg for the French team. Swimming off of Bernard’s drag, Lezak was able to catch up with the Frenchman and then in an impressive finish, he actually out touched Bernard. It was certainly the most amazing Olympic moment thus far. Lezak, the oldest member of the US men’s swim team, swam an incredible 46.06 second split - the fastest split time ever for the 4×100m relay. The U.S. team broke the world record by almost four seconds. In fact, the top five teams in the relay beat the previous world record which truly emphasizes how fast these teams were swimming.
Michael Phelps race for eight gold medals is certainly helping NBC rake in the big ratings according to the NY Times.
NBC’s prime-time broadcast of the Summer Olympics on Sunday night from Beijing attracted an average of 31.7 million viewers, 5.9 million more than the viewership for the same night four years ago in Athens. Over three nights, NBC is averaging 30.4 million viewers, 6.4 million more than in Athens for the comparable period of time.
NBC’s viewership peaked at 38.4 million from 9:30 to 10 p.m. eastern on a night that featured the U.S. men’s 4×100 freestyle relay team’s come-from-behind victory, which gave Michael Phelps his second gold medal, and women’s gymnastics.
The image of Phelps’ pure joy after Lezak’s blistering split is going to stay with me for a long time. To me, that’s what I love about the Olympics.
Source: LA Times
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August 12th, 2008 at 10:10 am
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