These Are The Days (The Lost Post)

My apologies. My last post was a bit crap. I began writing it at 1am and I was confused. I could have sworn that I had made at least one post during the Olympics. I was too tired and felt that I owed it to those of you who care about the Olympics to bang out a quick blog. The result was confusing and sloppy. I sat down to write another post today and what do I find? An authentic Olympic era blog. Here it is, enjoy.

This post is from August 9

I was in Shanghai last week where I visited Bryne in his new city. He only arrived there the day before I did but together we navigated the city deftly. The trip began when I woke up at 5:00 a.m. for a 7:00 a.m. flight. I took a taxi on the newly opened Airport Expressway 2. Huge and newly created especially to accommodate the theoretical rush of Olympic tourists, it is now the fastest way from my apartment to the new termnial 3 only taking 20 minutes. I arrived at terminal 3 and was in awe. I had been anticipating seeing the inside since I mistakenly arrived there to pick up my father and sister several months ago. It is the largest airport in the world they say and I believe it. It is huge and is very open with very high ceilings. It is a marvelous piece of architecture in a city that is rapidly expanding its list of must see buildings.

I arrived in Shanghai with little idea how to get to Bryne's new apartment. I had seen a National Geographic channel presentation on the Mag Lev train that has been built in Shanghai. Mag Lev stands for magnetic levitation. It is like a supertram(p) that hovers on the track creating very little friction. Less friction means higher speeds with less electricity needed. The Mag Lev goes from Pudong airport to the beginning of the Shanghai subway system. I was unsure whether it was the most direct way to get to Bryne's place and upon calling him confirmed that it was not, but I had to take it. Wow was it worth it. The thing is AMAZING! It has seats in it just like a train and a strange hum that enhances its futuristic credentials. There was a speedometer posted in LED lights inside the train and as we departed the station, slowly but surely, the LED showed why this was no ordinary train. As the speed was listed in kilometers per hour, I could only get a rough estimate of what our speed was in miles per hour. The train got faster and faster and the trees, cars, and buildings were whipping by with greater and greater intensity. Another Mag Lev train passed us on the right side and sent a jolt through the train. I looked up, on the speedometer it read 278 kph. That is fast, but we kept accelerating. 300...340...375...400...432!!!! We peaked out at 427 kph which, for those of you playing at home, is a shade under 270 miles per hour. It was amazing. The entire ride probably only lasted 10 minutes but it was well worth the price of admission.

After that I boarded the subway for a long ride to Bryne's neck of the woods. He met me at the airport and we went to his place. We hung out and had some lunch and did a little exploring. That evening we went out for some drinks and to catch up. Bryne had spent the last month in Kora with his girlfriend Seonju. The big news was that Bryne and Seonju married a couple of weeks ago. This is great because she is a great girl and he is a great guy and their kid will either be the tallest guy on the Korean Men's Basketball team or the shortest guy on the English Men's Basketball team. Either way the kid will be schooled in the salary cap, crossover dribble, and exploits of Isaiah Thomas.

The next day we were off to fulfill our destiny and attend the USA vs. Australia in men's basketball. We arrived at the stadium about two and a half hours early. We were hoping that we could just get in the stadium and possibly get some autographs or take some good pictures of the players. Our fatal mistake was not realizing that we were in China. Security was tight as a drum with armed police (a rare sight in a country where 95% of the police don't have guns) and dogs patrolling the area. Bryne and I debated whether they were attack dogs or sniffer dogs. Our final decision was that they probably did a bit of both. They decided to let us in at 6pm. Upon entering we saw that many concession stands and activity booths had been set up. It was not unlike the concourse at a sports event in the US. We got food, a chicken salad sandwich and a salad (a combination never seen in the US), some beers, and took our seats. With about 45 minutes to go before the match the stadium was EMPTY. The Chinese spectator is a new class. Public gatherings have never been really encouraged and attending sporting events is a relatively new concept in China, thus patrons are still getting a hang of it. More on this later in the blog. The stadium remained mostly empty through shootarounds. We arrived plenty early and were treated to seeing both teams warm up separately with the highlight coming when the American team got on the floor. The Chinese fans cheered each individual player as they entered the court but the two who received the most attention were Kobe, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James. We all know how special these athletes are and we all know they are big people but seeing them in person only enhances and affirms those notions. LeBron James is a massive individual. Muscular and athletic he has the body of a power forward and the athleticism of a guard. He is very impressive even when shooting jumpers. Dwight Howard is even more the physical specimen. Tall and lean with massive shoulders, he dwarfs everyone on the court with the exception of LeBron.

It was just cool to see all of those great players together, joking around, talking with each other, all while wearing the same jersey. As the minutes before game time ticked away, I was shocked to see that the stands were still mostly empty. The stadium WAS in the middle of no where, in am industrial park far on the south side of the city, but you'd think people would at least be as excited as I was to see this team. Bryne and I slipped into seats at the bottom of our section. While I did get us tickets, I didn't get us great tickets. Our new home provided a better vantage point. I took this picture at the tip-off:As the game went on the stands filled up but they did not get totally full until the end of the first quarter. One other thing that must be commented upon were the foreign fans in the stands. The only reason that they were noticeable is because the Chinese fans were virtually silent through most of the game. It was a very strange crowd. They were not vocal at all but did applaud good shots or drives by both teams. While they did clap for the Australians, they were clearly rooting for the Americans with countless young people wearing Kobe and LeBron jerseys. The foreign fans, mostly American, could be heard chanting 'De-Fense' and shouting encouragement. The Chinese thought this odd and laughed a bit. When some American jackass stood up a few rows in front of me, he chided the American team in a loud, bellowing voice which could be heard all around the stadium. One man could be heard among a crowd of 14 thousand, that is how quiet it was. Here are some more pictures:































The next day I had to leave early in the morning as I had to be at work early. My flight ended up being canceled and I had to wait for the next one. Luckily I made it on that plane and I was only one hour late for work. Well worth it to see USA Basketball. It was great to see Bryne and I think I might make another trip to Shanghai again soon.

Also this week, a little event you might have heard of called The Olympics kicked off here in Beijing. This is it. This is what I have heard about for over two years. What this city, what this country has been waiting for. The city was whipped into a frenzy in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Athletes could be seen all around the city wearing their team's official merchandise. On my way to work my taxi almost ran over a couple of Cubans, this is the type of encounter that can only happen at in an Olympic host city, or Miami. On Wangfujing, a street near my office, I ran into member from Team Swaziland.
"Swazi!!", I yelled. They responded with a 3 second dance and waved at me. Awesome. Team Nigeria came walking down the busy and increasingly international street. It is so fun to see all of these people from all over the world in one place.

On the night of the Opening Ceremonies things reached a crescendo. My school had to shut down and the day was declared a national holiday by the government, something that NEVER happens. I went to a friends house to watch. The entire ceremony was spectacular. I could have never guessed that it would have been that fantastic. What it did do was put on display the sheer number of Chinese citizens there are. Something like 15,000 people worked on the ceremonies. The beginning, where the drummers banged on drums of light, that part had 2,008 people. It was crazy. I must say that I was a little disappointed in the way the guy lit the cauldron. That fake running shtick was a little silly. The actual lighting of the cauldron was stunning. Is it me or is that flame bigger than normal? I wouldn't be surprised.

The next day, yesterday, I went to Beach Volleyball. My first event of the XXIX Olympiad. The venue was a nice one, located in the middle of Beijing's biggest park. The atmosphere was fun and laid back once you got through security.














The venue has concessions and play areas outside of the actual stadium because the stadium itself is very minimalist and temporary. They had beach volleyball pits outside where many kids
played and made sand castles. It was extremely hot. At 9:00 a.m. when the competitions began is was quite muggy and the pollution, I'm sorry, haze, protected us from the brunt of the heat. But as it got closer to noon the sun came out to play and made things miserable. As for the volleyball itself, the matches alternated between men's and women's. The venue was pretty full but definitely not 100%. The way that the ticketing works for venues that are hosting events all day, is that each ticket is for a time slot. My time was from 9am to 2pm. Around 11am we had a chance to see the Chinese women's pairing take on ?. Did it really matter? The Chinese women are favored to win the whole thing and the crowd likes a winner. This was the first time I was able to see Chinese fans root for a Chinese team. It was fun. The incessant chant, the only one they got is '____ Jia You' which means 'Let's Go___'. It literally translates to Add Oil but the real meaning is something closer to 'Step On The Gas'. This is a phrase I am sure the NBC commentators will pick up on if they haven't already. The crowd cheered every time the Chinese ladies touched the ball. In the end the Chinese team won and then there was a mass exodus. The vast majority, probably between 75 abd 80 percent of the Chinese fans left. This left a mostly international crowd with fans from Australia, Brazil, and the Netherlands representing the strongest contingents. It was a bit of bad sportsmanship I think. You gotta stay. As I have been typing this, I have been watching the games on Chinese TV. Almost without fail they will show an event until the Chinese competitor finishes and then they will switch their coverage. I don't want to make assumptions or stereotypes but it is representative of a sentiment that has been expressed here before that these games are about China vs The World. All of this is to gauge how good China is. I hope as the games go on the Chinese spectators become more interested in the sport rather than the color of the jersey.

There was a thermometer at sand level in the volleyball venue. I knew it was hot but I had to see what it was registering because I had to know. It said that the temperature was 120 degrees on the sand. It was definitely over 100 in the stands. It was a good day at the Beach Volleyball venue but too damn hot in the end. I left with one match left to go and headed to the north west part of the city to meet a girl who had tickets for sale. I bought two more sets of tickets, one to the Baseball gold medal match and the other to the Men's Soccer semi-finals. Wowy, I am jazzed.

Just a few rapidfire thoughts:
-There are no more taxis in this city. They have disappeared. I think they must either be at all the hotels or all the venues. They have essentially evaporated from the roads.

-The heat has been quite bad recently but rain is predicted for the next two days. Today it rained and cooled things of considerably. Today the high is 83 degrees.

-Tonight is the USA vs. China basketball match. To call it eagerly anticipated would be a huge understatement. Every bar in the city is running specials and pulling out projection tv's to satisfy their customers.

-Last night I went out with my friend Meskes and we noticed the insane amount of foreigners that are in the city. They are numerous and kind of annoying. What is more annoying is when people mistake me for a tourist. I hate that.

-The Chinese are pulling out all the stops to make people feel comfortable. All the staff, from security, to the concession stands, to the ushers, all of them speak English. It is amazing considering that, as a percentage, not that many people speak English. It is also a little gratifying for me.

- Beers at the Olympic venues are 5 RMB (60 cents) making the Olympic venues the cheapest places to drink in town. They also have pizza, sausage, and sandwiches available although, at the volleyball venue, none of that was available for some reason. It was advertised so I hope that whatever the problem was, it will be sorted out before I go to the Water Cube tomorrow.

- Michael Phelps is changing the world if only their sleeping habits. Because of AMERICA most of Phelps' races will be held in the morning so you all can get a live look at him in his quest for gold. Thanks. All I can say is that you better be watching and appreciative of the fact that the entire Olympic schedule has been changed for your benefit. This also applies to the 10pm local time start to the USA v. China basketball match.

-Reliable sources say that costumed performers at the Opening Ceremonies wore diapers during their dress rehearsals.

And now I give you this:

Happy Olympics Everyone!