2012 London Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom are days away, with opening ceremonies set for this Friday, July 27. I don't know about everywhere in the world, but hype is incredibly low here in Hong Kong. Maybe it's the come-down from 2008 in Beijing, maybe it's the lack of general sports interest in this culture, maybe it's that people aren't that interested in the Olympics in general. However, I am super interested in the Olympics and in fact, this blog originated as an Olympics blog. Regretfully, I have not really been following the buildup to these Olympics as well and am entirely oblivious on the state of many interesting sports.  Still, I think I can outline why I'm excited for these Olympics and what I will be watching for.

1. London will be the first city ever to host the Games three times, having acted as host city in 1908 and 1948.  It is without doubt one of the world’s premier cities in so many aspects, and has been for the entire modern era. Of course, this does not guarantee that the Games will run smoothly nor that the city will escape criticism, and it seems there are just as many infrastructure concerns with London as there were with Beijing (though less than there were with Athens).  There are worries with the traffic, the Athlete’s Village, the volunteers, security (London has been victim to terrorist attacks this decade) and even the logo (which has garnered incredible public disapproval and a few bizarre controversies). I think hosting an Olympics is an open invitation to ticky-tack international criticism and that most of these complaints will hopefully fade away after the Opening Ceremonies.  The city has undergone much redevelopment and renewal, with the Olympic Stadium being built in a formerly derelict part of town, hopefully springboarding the way to a vibrant post-Games neighborhood. The London Shard, the tallest building in the European Union and engineered by my company, Arup, opened in early July.  It's not the same hyperdevelopment of a city as it was for Beijing, when the subway doubled in anticipation of the Olympics, but it's some serious infrastructure overhaul.
2. Interesting sports.  A lot of people complain about the Olympics and how there are all these stupid, silly sports that you only see every four years.  The truth is that every athlete who shows up in the Olympics is absolutely ridiculously impressive, and it's your job to recognize. If a sport looks wacky, it's cause it's unfamiliar to you. Sports take a long time to learn, even to watch, and it always strikes me as humorous when American sports talk show hosts, who only ever watch the big 4 American sports, are suddenly made to comment on swimming and beach volleyball.  I wrestled for three years in high school and saw Freestyle Wrestling at the Olympics, and had to go back for more the next week in order to understand what I just saw.  To be able to appreciate sports takes time and study, like appreciating fine art.  Track and field times mean something to me, hence I enjoy watching it on the Olympic stage. Swimming times are meaningless to me, and hence all those different Olympic events turn to mush in my brain.  Most Americans thus just intensely follow the basketball team and then idly amuse themselves with the other curious sports.  If you really want to get into the Olympics, I would recommend picking a sport you are interested in but don't know much about, get to know the athletes and follow it throughout the Games. 
3. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.  The two biggest stars of the 2008 Olympics are back, but no longer guaranteed for gold.  Bolt owns the 100m and 200m world records with staggering times of 9.58 and 19.19 respectively, but hasn't gone full speed in these intervening four years.  He was beaten by 22 year old Yohan Blake in both events in the Jamaican Olympic trials. It is very hard to repeat in the Olympic Sprints (Carl Lewis was the last in 1984 and 1988) and Blake, who owns PRs of 9.75 and 19.26 himself, may very well be the world's next sprint superstar. Still, Bolt lit the world on fire in Beijing and has something special inside him that maybe only the biggest stage can bring out.  He's still just 25 and well within his prime. Meanwhile Phelps is coming off 8 golds in Beijing and 6 in Athens and really doesn't need to be here. He's 27, absolutely ancient in his sport, but will still compete in seven events in London. He's not expected to win seven golds this time, but if he wins any, he'll further establish himself as an Olympian for the ages. He is two medals away from equalling a Soviet gymnast for all time Olympic medals.
4. USA Basketball.  They should win the gold.  If they don't, that would suck. End of story.
5. The Opening Ceremonies.  This will not be the extravagant million performer affair that Beijing's was, but it will feature a short film of Daniel Craig as James Bond! The UK has long stated they won't do anything as expensive as China did, for very good reasons, but they can still put on a great show. So much of the world has been profoundly influenced by British culture that a performance celebrating the history and traditions of the Isles will hopefully be able to affect many billions worldwide.
6. Underdog stories and politics. This is what makes the Olympics the Olympics. It's Saudi Arabia sending women competitors for the first time (namely Sarah Attar in the 800m and Wodjan Ali Sejar in judo). Now every competing country will be co-ed. It's Afghanistan sending a female boxer in Sadaf Rahimi. It's Iran stating that it's athletes will face Israeli athletes after forfeiting in past Games.  It's even Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou getting kicked off her Olympic team for tweeting something racist against Africans in Greece. The Olympics are a microcosm of our world, of our greatest problems, our greatest inspirations, our possible hopes and solutions.  It's where the places you come from, the name of the country on your back, matters and yet doesn't matter.

I really haven't followed these Olympics enough to write a great preview, but that's why I'm excited to watch. I know that something unforgettable and momentous will happen. I hope that nothing tragic will happen.  I also hope that in the pureness of athletic competition, the world will come closer together than ever before.