Anticipating the London Olympics in light of past glories

The Olympic Stadium in the final stages of construction at Stratford

Chloe Davis
Sports Editor

Possibly my favorite Olympic moment was the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in which Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal in the games during the 4×100 medley relay, surpassing Mark Spitz’s previous record of seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games. Who doesn’t remember the glorious fist-pumping that occurred in that moment?

And now, I am ecstatic to announce that we have finally reached 2012. No, not the year I graduate, and no, not the year the world ends. But 2012, the year of the London Summer Olympics. Why, you might be asking yourself, am I so excited for this particular Olympics? Because I will be there (cue fits of jealousy and rage).

Maybe it’s just me, but I love the Olympics. During the Winter Games, I can be found dividing my time between Snowboarding with my boy Shaun White, Curling, and Speed Skating. No, really. I find Speed Skating thrilling.

The London Olympics are something of a joke for my family. My dad is from right around London, and while everyone else views this city as a fashion capital or an equivalent to Paris, we know that they’re only picturing Shaftesbury Avenue. In reality, the East End of London has been historically looked at as “outcast London” and largely ignored by tourists who want to enjoy something a little more like what they see on a postcard.

For some time now, my dad has been cracking jokes about how, compared to the spectacular, technologically advanced opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, London will probably experience malfunctions with lighting and the climax of the evening will be handheld sparklers (if you don’t understand why that’s so sad, Google the opening ceremony of 2008).

All joking aside, East London has been more or less transformed in the last few years. I was just there a couple weeks back, and the Tube stop at Stratford, which used to be nothing much to look at, is now lit up with tourist attractions and expensive department stores like Marks and Spencer, along with alluring designer shops. (Just to give you some perspective on the classiness of the East End: the development recently had to implement extreme security measures because stores were being robbed and people who had just been shopping were being mugged). Lesser-known places like Stratford are being improved along with more well-known sites for the Games, like Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena and the Wimbledon Club.

Here’s my main point about the Olympics: I think we underestimate the power a great sports moment can have on a generation. Think about the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” with the Men’s US Hockey team. That event not only represented a great win for America, but it also reflected on some serious political, economic and social issues of the time (PERSIA + GT anyone???).

So maybe Phelps’ gold medal record isn’t as politically significant. But it’s not a moment I or the International Olympic Committee will soon forget. It’s a moment that I’ll be proud to say I witnessed. I’d like to believe that everyone loves the Olympics as much as I do because it’s those moments, the moments of pride, unity, and probably some legendary fist pumping, that remind me of why we love sports. Why we love them, why we play them and why the whole world, for three weeks, forgets everything else and watches them. So what will you be watching this July: A rerun of PLL, or history being made?