Most the
medals being handed out today are in the finals of some of the team sports and then
the men’s marathon. The marathon is over by now and the only team sport left that
involves the U.S. is men’s basketball.
Team USA has
been expected to win the gold medal all along and today is their chance to
actually do it. After falling way short of expectations in Athens, the U.S. men
have been very strong and are looking for its second straight Olympic
championship. No doubt you’ve heard the back-and-forth squabble of whether or
not this team is better than the Dream Team. I’m not going to join this
argument, but I will say that I wish it were possible to actually see a game
between the two teams. But today the U.S. faces Spain, the same team they beat
in the 2008 final. They can and should win. If they lose, there is no longer an
argument as to which team is better.
Then tonight
we have the closing ceremony. While the opening ceremony is heavy with
anticipation, emotion and spectacle, the closing is more like a giant
celebration. The music director for the closing ceremony, David Arnold, is
calling it “the greatest after-party in the world.” Saying, “If the opening
ceremony was the wedding, then we’re the wedding reception.”
Well, I love
wedding receptions, so I’m excited for this one. The show will include
performances of 30 British hit singles from the past five decades. The Who,
George Michael, Muse and Ed Sheeran have all said they will take part in the
show and some photos have also leaked of the Spice Girls. I sure hope the Spice
Girls rumor is true. It’s what I want, what I really, really want.
Organizers
say they want the ceremony to be a “cheeky” reflection of modern Britain, so maybe
we can expect a little Monty Python type humor. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sir
Paul McCartney appears again as well. I mean, what is British music without The
Beatles? Also, The Daily Mail published photos of what it said was the set,
which included reconstructions of London landmarks like St. Paul’s Cathedral
and Tower Bridge.
Carrying the
U.S. flag in the closing ceremony will be track athlete Bryshon Nellum. Nellum,
who won a silver medal in the 4x400m, was chosen because of the amazing
comeback he had to get to the Olympics. Nellum was shot in both thighs and one
hamstring while walking home near the USC campus his freshman year of college.
He overcame three surgeries to race again, the last of which was performed only
a year ago.
If you’re
like me and love a good video montage, tonight is the night! At the end of the
NBC broadcast tonight they will show all the best parts of the last two weeks
and since 2002 it’s been set to the score from Remember the Titans. It will happen during the closing credits of
the broadcast, right after Bob Costas give us his final thoughts. I hope you
enjoy it as much as I always do.
I will sure
miss the Olympics, but I’m not sure I’ll miss the emotional rollercoaster it
constantly puts me on. If you haven’t seen something over the last 17 days that
hasn’t touched your heart in some way or caused you to cry, I don’t know what
will.
While this
is my last email, I’ll keeping blogging at paigeonlondon.blospot.com if you
wish to continue reading my thoughts on the games.
Cheers!
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