Closing Ceremonies

Olympic light burn on and on O'er seas and mountains and plains Unite, inspire, bring honor To these ascending games

Last night, to great fanfare, The Games of the XXX Olympiad came to a close.

NBC got dinged for its coverage of the Closing Ceremonies which were, at best, ‘uneven’ (as was the case with NBC’s coverage of the games, itself). Still, if you put aside the distractions, the London games were good games and last night’s Ceremonies were a fitting tribute to an enjoyable Olympics, even if NBC cut away way too early. Today, athletes, coaches and officials are preparing to descend upon London Heathrow Airport to make their journey home.

As I wrote when these Olympics began, I always think of the Olympic Games as a mile marker along life’s journey (along with many similar big events). I will always think of the 2012 Summer Olympics as being the games that welcomed home Holly after her travels to Europe as well as the ones that ushered in Paul’s senior year in high school.

Funny thing. In dissecting that reality a little deeper, when the 2012 Summer Olympics began, it was still July. Summer felt like it was in full swing. Now, as the games concluded, there is a hint of Autumn in the air and students are preparing to go back to school for the start of fall term.

Indeed, in Knox County, tomorrow is the first official day of school. By week’s end, the first high school football games will be in the books. FHS hosts its first home game next week. It’s all coming up fast.

So, in a unique way, these Olympics served as a bridge from season to season.

It was similar when the 1984 Summer Games (the ones in L.A. – the Games of the XXIII Olympiad). Actually, those Olympics were set on the same calendar footprint as the Olympics this year. The ’84 Summer Games ended, in fact, with Closing Ceremonies on August 12, 1984 and I was preparing to go back to school for my senior year in college a few weeks later.

There was a similar crispness in the air early that September.

That was also an election year (just as this is) with the opposition party trying to unseat an incumbent President. Just as these games took us up to the brink of political conventions and the fall election cycle, so does this one. Within a few weeks, both parties will have their conventions, nominate their candidates and we’ll be off to the races (so to speak).

As for these Olympics, what things will you remember? The U.S. won more medals (and more gold medals) than any other nation. So, in terms of gold, silver and bronze, it was a good year for the red, white and blue. Whether your sport is swimming (or diving), track and field, beach volleyball, gymnastics or basketball, there was plenty of action to watch and plenty of good results for the U.S.

There were also plenty of good results for the home team. The organizers of the London Olympics – as well as the UK athletic organisations – have to feel good about the outcome of these games. And now, we look ahead to the games of Rio in 2016 even as we celebrate the Games of London.

In the words of IOC President at last night’s ceremonies, Dr. Jacques Rogge, “These were happy and glorious Games.”

Very apt.

JG

(Source: olympic.org)

Originally posted 8/13/2012