Opening Ceremonies- Day 6
What an action packed day!!!! The day started off with a little bit of training, a whirlwind of getting ready, meeting an important person, traveling back to the Village, waiting, a little more waiting, traveling to our venue (which was near our hotel where we started), meet cool people on the bus, wait in the volleyball venue, meet cool people, and then walk, and walk some more, and then walk into Opening Ceremonies, and then head home!! The end.
I guess I'll unpack that story a bit and tell you in detail how the day went! We did start with training, that was pretty normal, we were feeling pretty good, last day of training before our first match, we're ready!! Then it was a race to shower, do hair/makeup, try not to start sweating again, eat something if there was time, and then hurry over to meet the US Secretary of State, John Kerry! He came to the Navy School to say hello to all the athletes training there. We were pretty pumped. He made a brief speech, he spoke about how proud he was that we were representing our country and that the Olympics is a great event to bring awareness and insight to foreign relations. He shook hands, took some selfies and group photos, and then we had to say goodbye, jump on a bus and head for the Village. Keep it movingâŠ
Got to the village early and had some down time, thank goodness for the athlete lounge, we hung out with the men's volleyball team for a bit before we had to gather. When we went downstairs it was a huge swarm of athletes everywhere, everyone in the same striped shirt, white pants, and blue blazer. People were going around either taking photos with each other or finding other athletes to take photos with. It was overwhelming, it was hot with the jacket on, but it was amazing to feel the buzzing of excitement as we were all ready to go!
We started walking and we were one of the last groups to walk, which put us right in front of Phelps who had only come out once he knew people started walking, probably to avoid the mob that would inevitably swarm him. Karsta, Kim, and I strategically stayed right in front of him and then told everyone behind us to jump in our photo! Hahaha we figured it was more discreet than outright asking right? Or was it? Anyway, the walk continued and that part was cool in itself because we were walking the curved path through the village as Team USA, even though it was opening ceremonies yet, it was a cool moment!
We got to the buses and we all spread out, most teams stayed together but this way we ended up meeting lots of different teams, some of the girls got to chat with Ricky Fowler the golfer, and Kim, Karsta, and I got to hang with the women's Basketball team. I sat down behind Maya Moore and got to talk with her the whole way to the stadium. It was really cool to chat about their team, the life they live vs ours, she was interested in our side of things as well! I really enjoyed the chat, so cool to find common ground!
Our volleyball arena is right next to the soccer stadium, so it became the holding area. They gave us snacks and a huge section to sit in and be comfortable while we waited to go in. Other countries were already there, some would arrive in a bit, and everyone was dressed in their opening outfits, interesting to see the colors, the design, etc. We found this waiting area comforting. The basketball teams, some of the track athletes, and probably Serena Williams, might not have felt the same, they were sitting ducks for people to come ask for photos, but they handled it well. Music was playing and people were dancing, and of course at one point we had the wave going. And then it was timeâŠ.
But not really, it was time to walk, but that walk would take about 30 min, even thought the actual distance being traveled should have take less than 5 min to walk. Even though the walk was long, there were lots of photos taken, lots of team interactions, met some of the sprinters. They asked us about our qualification process and how many games it took to win here, and while we can imagine that they have one shot sometimes to prove themselves, to qualify, they said they'd rather have a quantifiable measurement, rather than a subjective decision on who makes the team, and that they'd rather compete the 1,2 times (depending on the event, or how many events they were in), to our playing every other day. Â In the end, to each their own.
We started down into the tunnel, and for most former Olympians, this is their favorite part. Itâs pretty awesome, weâre so close you can see a little bit inside, but mostly itâs dark, we can hear the fans inside, and then everyone around us (I think Court started it), started chanting, USA, USA, USA!! This is that moment, weâre in it, we are Team USA, and no matter if youâve done this part before, if youâre famous NBA or WNBA players, if youâre Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, etc, nobody has been in this moment before, and weâre all experiencing it in the same way, and I think thatâs why people like this part so much! What a cool concept and amazing feeling!
We made our way onto the field, walking the aisle created by the other countries standing around us, the stadium is full of color and screaming people, the lights are bright, and you just know that this is a big deal, that this is the show. I wanted to be in it, I wanted to document it, I wanted to share it. So much in the 2/3 minutes it probably took us to walk around and then it was over. We had to leave early because we had to compete the next day. We did it! We got to walk in Opening Ceremonies in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, we were part of the history! There arenât enough words.
We got back to the hotel and had a late dinner and discussed everyoneâs favorite parts, and then quickly got to bed. Tonight was huge, but there were big things ahead of us as well.
P.S. Wanted to thank everyone for watching and searching for me on TV, I know my mom got sent screen shots of me walking across that golfers interview. I got a couple via twitter, so cool to see peopleâs excitement, Iâm living this with you guys, Iâm happy to share this experience with family, friends, our town, our community, our state! Itâs amazing!