Jolly Good Show London!

19 days of excitement, joy, pride and sleep deprivation is finally over!

We taped The Closing Ceremonies and I tried to stay awake until the end, but had to go to sleep shortly after The Olympic Flame was extinguished.

As the flame died out, cauldron by cauldron, I could feel a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. This happens to me every time. This ceremony signifies the end of a magical moment in history and in the lives of thousands of athletes and billions of citizens of the world.

When the individual cauldrons all rose up together to form The Olympic Flame during the Opening Ceremony, the symbolism was unmistakable, and very powerful. Individual flames all joining together to form something brighter and more powerful than they had been individually.

While the games are about individual achievement and national glory, for the most part, The Olympic Flame is the symbol of our commonality and strength when we come together.

There were so many magical moments at these 30th Olympic Games. There were probably thousands of magical moments that we did not see as many athletes achieved lifelong dreams of competing at this level. Many won fame and glory, some just finished their race or event knowing they had done their best and given it their all. There is great dignity in the sportsmanship and humility of these great athletes.

While Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps have no lack of words to describe their own accomplishments and greatness, I cannot take offense at their braggadocio. How can anyone ague with them? They have achieved greatness, great fame and immortality in the minds of sports fan around the world. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these men achieve greatness. I’ve never met Michael Phelps but he seems like a great guy and seems to be able to keep his ego in check. When he says he is the greatest, he is not bragging, he is merely stating a fact.

Ashton Eaton seemed less comfortable claiming to be The Greatest Athlete in the World. But, having competed in the 10 track and field events of the decathlon and coming out on top is a monumental achievement.

How about Mo Farrah? I heard someone on NBC comment that the English took a bit of a pause when they realized they were cheering for someone name Mohammed, and then realized that he was one of them. They seemed to indicate that this was a an eye opener for some people. That realization was very powerful to me and gave me hope that English Society may also advance as a result of these games.

One last note on my infatuation with The Women of The 30th Olympiad. How about that Jessica Ennis? She has got to be the cutest athlete of the games. I could watch her race all day. Just a beautiful girl. The American women also looked awesome and were irresistible when they were interviewed in their regular clothes and with their hair down.

So many great performances; so many great stories. I have neither the talent nor space to write about them all. It has been a great 19 days, but now it is time to get back to work, get back to my training, and to get some sleep!

Thank you for reading my blog today.

©2012 anagelin