Well, what a ride this has been! I wonder why the Kleenex people don’t advertise during these events since most of us use a lot of them as we watch the games.
I realized something of interest during the past two weeks. You know how most women grow older and turn into their mothers? Well, I’m turning into my granddad Smith. Granddad loved television wrestling shows. He’d watch wrestling and we’d watch him. He’d sit on the edge of his chair and hoot and cheer but, strangely, he’d also mimic most of the moves. He’d twist and turn, duck and swing, bump and grind. I was horrified to realize I was doing the same thing during the Olympics. I’d feel myself turning with the skiers and bobbing with the bobsledders. About the only thing I didn’t want to imitate were the sports having to do with extreme height. Here are just a few of my comments:
To the city of Vancouver: What delightful hosts you appeared to be. You put on marvelous opening and closing shows and made us love your country even more than we already did.
To our awesome USA Hockey Team: Wow!!! What a show! I am so proud of our team.
I’ve always been a hockey fan but this display of talent was the epitome of fine hockey. The repercussions of this game should resound across the land as people come to recognize the joy of watching hockey. You brought the sport to a new level.
To Apolo Ohno: Of all the people competing, you were the one I most loved watching. You displayed the ideal of good sportsmanship and your joy in simply being there was refreshing. What a representative of our country you are. Politicians could take notes.
To Joannie Rochette of Canada: What an inspiration you were. Your display of strength and courage after your young mother died on the first day of the Olympics was amazing. You won our hearts. We watched with wonder as you performed with grace and beauty and dedicated your skating to her. She would be so proud that you won your medal.
To Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis, Apolo Ohno and Bode Miller, just to name a few: I expect to see you in the movies someday. What beautiful people you are!
To Steve Holcomb’s team and their bobsled “Night Train:” The last time this was done was in 1948. What fun to watch you travel 150-plus mph to a golden victory.
To the NBC news team, headed by Bob Costas: You provided 835 hours of great coverage. The segment you did on the city of Gander, Newfoundland, was an emotionally-charged gem. For nearly a week this small town cared for over 7,000 airline passengers who were displaced by the 9-11 tragedy. What these townspeople did for these visitors was nothing short of amazing.
To the Team USA: You did it! You made us proud. Some of you won and some of you lost in those few minutes on the world stage. But when it came to representing our country, in showing the world who and what we are, you were all gold medal champions. I am so proud to be an American.
Finally, to Proctor and Gambell: Your ads focusing on the moms of the athletes were heartwarming and made my heart, as a mother, swell. We mothers do love our children and our pride in their accomplishments is overwhelming and wonderful. Watching the footage showing one mother in the stands mouth, “that’s my baby,” brought tears every time I saw it.
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