London Olympics 2012 ~ It’s time!!!

The day has finally come!  London has been preparing to host the Olympics for seven years now and the time has finally arrived.  I went on an Olympic walking tour this past winter; the stadium was just a shell and the Olympic Village looked like a construction site.  London has come a long way.

The excitement has been building.  The city is filling up with tourists.  Mac said his commute home has been challenging this week.  There are more people on the trains, with maps in hand, and the tube is a mess.  Plus, we are having a heat wave right now, which is so unusual.  (They say enjoy it because it will only last a week!)  Anyway, the trains have been delayed and Mac has been getting home an hour late each night.  One day there were no trains to Oxshott so I had to go pick him up at a nearby station.  I can’t imagine what the next two weeks will be like. 

Signs have been up for a while warning us that roads and businesses will be closed this weekend due to the Cycle Through Surrey, an Olympic event passing our street corner.  We are thrilled to be able to take part, but in a country where there is so much congestion, coupled with narrow English roads, it is destined to be a nightmare.  Normally, when construction is occurring, they put in a temporary light and you end up queuing for 20 minutes before you can pass.  Imagine all the extra people and traffic.  The joke is that London is going to bust during the Olympics!  

Saturday, after the bike race we are hopping in the car and driving 4 hours to Manchester so see another Olympic event – a football game at Old Trafford Stadium.  Actually, most of our Olympic tickets are held in places other than the Olympic Village.  We have Beach Volleyball tickets (a hot commodity) at the picturesque Horse Guard’s Parade; Canoe Sprint tickets at Eton Buckinghamshire; Men’s Basketball tickets in the big white bubble (which I learned will be deflated and sent to Scotland after the Olympics), and Women’s Football Final tickets at Wembley Stadium.  We had to purchase tickets to get into the park itself; we’re scheduled to be there August 1, from 4-9 pm.

Horse Guard's Parade - Home of Women's Beach Volleyball 

It all begins tomorrow, but really the torch has been traveling throughout England for some time now.  It arrived from Greece, via David Beckham, on May 18.  It started at the most southern tip of England, Lands End in Cornwall, and traveled almost 8,000 miles across 70 cities.  The thing that was most impressive was the people that carried the torch.  They are everyday people with incredible stories.  One torchbearer, Stephen Kirchner, is a student at our school.  He was diagnosed with leukemia a few years back.  He also is a straight A student, started a charity foundation for teenagers with cancer, is working towards his Eagle Scout, is the sound guy for dances/shows, also the captain of the track n field team, and is applying to Ivy League colleges in the States.  And his mother is fighting breast cancer at the moment.  He’s the nicest kid I ever met.  His story is just one of many.  All the torchbearers have a similar story to share.  It's humbling indeed.

 This is what is so great about the Olympics.  It brings out the best in all of us.  As we sit and watch the games we get to know the athletes and learn their story.  And they are just ordinary people, which really make it special. 

GB Support Crew ~ Sailing Team

A few months back I had the opportunity to sail with the Great Britain Olympic Sailing team.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  When we arrived at the Isle of Wight, we met the team and learned that they are actually the support crew.  They just found out two days ago that they did not make the sailing team.  Three guys had campaigned full time for a year – just to earn a spot.  But the forth guy (actually the first guy on the left), Rick Peacock, had been campaigning, full time, for over four years.  He is 26 and will be too old to compete in the 2016 Olympics.  He was gutted.  You could see it in his eyes - that lost hope to sail with the Great Britain Olympic team.  We were assigned to Rick’s boat and it was perhaps one of the most memorable days of my life.  There was no wind in the morning so while he was teaching us the basics about sailing he told us all about his life.  His hopes.  His dreams.  There are so many others out there that are just like Rick.  They don’t make it to the Olympics yet they train all their life.  It just puts everything into perspective. 

Tiina, Rick & Traci

The cauldron is lit, the concert in Hyde Park has begun, and the stage is set.  As the athletes prepare for their final moment, we also prepare for our final exit.  What an event on which to end! 

Go team (Great Britain AND America), Go!

Wimbledon and Sandown

One venue is world famous and the other is not, but both are very English!  We have two guest bloggers today which makes this entry especially historic...

 Wimbledon by R. Cobb

Murray Mound

The queue, 11, 000 deep

My dad and I had the opportunity to go to Wimbledon last weekend. We took the train there. We didn’t get tickets beforehand so we got in the queue. There was a giant line of people stretching a mile long. My dad and I were just a small dot on the canvas of 11,000 people. After 4 ½ long and tiresome hours of waiting, we got into the grounds.

They were fantastic and very posh. It looked like a tennis players haven with twenty beautiful courts, food stalls, stores, and a huge TV on a hill known as Murray’s Mound. We took in the views and watched some young stars trying to make a name for them selves.

Photo from Ryan's cell phone

We made our way to the ticket resale booth hoping to get tickets to Centre Court to see Andy Murray vs. Marcos Baghdatis. After another grueling 2 ½ hour wait we finally got in! We ran into Centre Court not wanting to miss any more points. When we arrived the match was in the middle of the first set. We stayed until it was over and Murray won, concluding one of our best experiences in England.

Andy Murray, "I'm getting closer."

As they say in Wimbledon,  “Three cheers for Murray. Hip-Hip-Hooray! Hip-Hip-Hooray! Hip-Hip-Hooray! And one for luck! Hip-Hip-Hooray!” 

For those who missed the news: on Sunday Andy Murray lost to Roger Federer in what was probably the biggest televised match at Wimbledon since 1990, drawing over 17 million viewers.  It was heartbreaking, and as Murray said, he “lost to one of the greatest athletes of all time.”

Sandown Racetrack by T. Cobb

We went to Sandown on Saturday and bet on horses.  Some people won and some people lost.  It was stunning seeing the horses run.  We had to dress up in a button down shirt and jeans.  When we bet we went inside and asked the guy to bet on the horses.  Then we went back to our seats and watched.  People yelled when their horse came in first.  We won five or six times.  I really liked it. 

Summer Camp by A. Cobb

Today I dropped off B and T at Chelsea football camp.   They are learning football at the training ground of England’s premier football team ~ Chelsea.  It is the hottest team in England and they train five minutes from our house. 

It’s not just about football but also about the players.  T thought he saw John Terry this morning, the Captain of the team.  However, Terry was in court for racially abusing another football player.

Fortunately, it’s not just about the players.  B and T were dressed in their proper team uniforms representing Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.  T matched the grounds crew and the staff working all around Chelsea this morning!

R started tennis camp today as well.  He begrudging went thinking he would be the oldest and playing with only novices.  To his surprise there was a nice group of kids his age and all of them were quite talented.  He had a great time! 

I think it’s going to be a good week J.