I get very mixed reactions from people when I mention I am going to the Olympic Games. Yesterday, someone said "why?" So, prior to us leaving, I will try to answer that question.

My earliest memory of the games is from the 1960 games in Rome. I remember the barefoot Ethiopian runner in the marathon. When I went to college to study to be a Health and Physical Education teacher in the late 1960's, we had a history and philosophy course that covered the history of the ancient games. We used to joke that Dr. Russell Sturzebecker showed us slides of every rock in the ancient world, but it instilled in me an appreciation of the ancient Olympic Games. The original games were held as part of a large religious festival in Olympia and the first games in 776 B.C. had only one athletic event. It was the stade race the length of the stadium.

While in graduate school, I had Dr. Sturzebecker for a course on the history of the modern Olympic Games. It helped me understand what the games were all about from a historical perspective. My first real exposure to the scope of the games came in 1976 when I was in Paris during the entire second week of the games. I stayed up late at night watching TV with a live broadcast from Montreal. With the time difference, I was able to see live coverage into the wee hours of the morning. I got to see sports that we usually do not see in the USA. My first opportunity to actually visit the games was in 1992 in Barcelona. That was my first olympics and it was a great trip with a colleague, a former student, and my father. We got to see the sights of a foreign city, meet and talk to people from all over the world, and see the Olympic Games. I guess, for me, that answers that question from above. We have since gone to Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Athens. Each experience was different and unique. Now, going to our 4th games together, we are looking forward to seeing Beijing, meeting people from around the world, and seeing the Olympic Games.

Rick Stevenson