Gold medal memories

The first Olympics I clearly recall watching are those from 1984. I imagine I watched some of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1980--somewhere I have some commemorative stickers that came in boxes of Pop-Tarts--but I don't remember taking them in. All I recall of the '80 Summer Games in Moscow is the U.S. boycott. Were they even covered on television here?

The earliest memories I have of Olympics viewing is laying on the floor of a hotel room near Toledo on President's Day weekend and watching ABC's coverage from Sarajevo for the Winter Games. I want to say it was a hockey game, but memories can be tricky. I feel fairly certain, though, that I raptly watched as the TV glowed in a darkened room and unfamiliar sports appeared before me. The '84 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were promoted like crazy, perhaps best remembered via the McDonald's scratch-off cards that awarded free food if Americans medaled.

As an aspiring sports journalist I wrote a piece for the local weekly newspaper about the 1988 Calgary Winter Games with the hope that it would start me on the road to being a published writer outside of the school paper. (It didn't, probably for a very good reason.)

I've continued to watch the Olympics as obsessively as my schedule permits. Why? Obviously seeing the best athletes competing is a big attraction, but I also like the international flavor and the way that it takes hold of the world's imagination (or so I'd like to think) for the event's duration. In the summer of 2004 it was cool to hang out for a bit in a public lot in downtown Toronto to watch the events being projected on a big screen. Caught up in the Games, I also visited Olympic Spirit Toronto, which opened shortly before I spent a few days in the city.

There's just one day left in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. I'll be sad to see them end. I find it comforting to be able to come home and watch a curling match or spend the night viewing whatever the day's events are. Chances are I won't see most of these athletic competitions again until 2014 and probably won't miss them. (I'd really like more curling, though.) Nevertheless, for the last couple weeks almost nothing else has held my attention like the Olympics. Hurry back soon.