London 2012 Olympics

It is hard to believe that the Olympics have officially come and gone.  There was a definite feeling of excitement in the air that you couldn’t help becoming part of.  I am so glad that we stayed around London during that time to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

On the evening of the Opening Ceremonies, we went to a friend’s house to celebrate.  There was a lot of relaxing, kids’ playing, fun decorations, and yummy food.

The Ceremonies were well done and we tried hard to find the 2 people we knew performing in it (a Mary Poppins and a dementor), but it was impossible.  Of course, Mr. Bean playing “Chariot’s of Fire” will always be the moment that sticks out in our minds.

A year ago when Olympic tickets were available through the lottery system, we applied for many gymnastics events and a few ‘just in case’ events.  When we received notice of our tickets, they were only the ‘just in case’ events (volleyball & football/soccer).  We were so bummed as gymnastics was something Caleb had really wanted to experience first hand.  Some friends in our ward asked if we had gotten any gymnastics tickets and when we told them our sad story, they gave us 2 tickets that they had for the Men’s Gymnastics Team Final.  May they be forever blessed!

Men’s Road Race

As the Olympics started up, one of the first events was the Men’s Cycling Road Race.  We found out the race wound itself around not far from where we live . . . and we could see it for free!  So, we jumped at the chance and spent our Saturday afternoon waiting and watching the road race.

Viewers Early On

We got to the venue about an hour early and got a great spot right next to the barriers.  We had a great time people watching and defending our up-close view.

Girls Hanging Out Waiting

Every car or motorcycle that came by were cheered and waved to.  Soon, the sidewalks had filled up and one last motorcycle came by, just in front of the lead cyclists.

Leading in the Cyclists

Just being there, being a part of the cheering crowd, was amazing.  It didn’t matter which country the cyclists were from, they were all being cheered and encouraged as they finished this portion of the race.

1st Wave of Cyclists

Each wave of cyclists were given a wave of renewed cheers, all the way to the last cyclist.  It was wonderful to see everyone pulling together in the spirit of the Olympics to cheer on all those who had worked so hard to be there.

2nd Wave of Cyclists

Bringing up the rear of the race were the support cars, carrying spare bikes, tires, etc.  They each were cheered as well.

Support Cars

For our first taste of an Olympic event, this was perfect!

The Cheerleaders

Wenlock the Mascot

Men’s Gymnastics Team Finals

Caleb and Chris got to go to the Men’s Gymnastics Team Finals on the first Monday of the Olympics.  Caleb may have been a little torn who to rout for – USA or Great Britain, but he was excited to cheer them on nonetheless.

Going into the Event

To backtrack for just a moment, the Sunday before had brought a lot of visitors to church – spectators, athletes, commentators, etc.  One of those visiting commentators (for NBC) was Peter Vidmar, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist for gymnastics, who happens to be LDS.  When Chris met him at church, he mentioned that our son, Caleb, was involved in gymnastics and would be attending the team finals the following evening.  Peter said he would be there commentating and would love to meet Caleb.  He gave Chris his cell phone number and told him to text him when they arrived.

Peter’s ‘Card’ for Caleb

Peter was as good as his word.  When Chris texted him, Peter came down and met them.  He was a little taken aback with Caleb’s physique with his tight gym shirt on as he said, “Dude!  You’re buff!  You REALLY are a gymnast!”  Peter may have thought he was just humoring Chris with his son being in a gymnastics class once a week, but here was Caleb with a gymnastics schedule equivalent to a part-time job.  He and Peter were able to ‘talk shop’ for a good 15 minutes before Peter had to get back to his job.  One of the things Peter asked Caleb was what he is working on in the gym right now.  When Caleb told him he is working on the Tkatchev on high bar, Peter surprised Caleb by telling him that he actually competed against the actual person that move is named for!

Caleb & Peter Vidmar

The venue was set up quite similarly to when we went for the London Prepares event.

Competition Floor

It turned out to be an amazing event as Team GB took home the bronze (bumped down from the silver after Japan’s appeal)!  Definitely a night to remember!

The O2 at Night

Men’s Volleyball

Our second event was for Men’s Volleyball at Earl’s Court, a few tube stops away from home.  I got to take the 3 older kids to this one.

Outside Earl’s Court

We didn’t even know who would be playing until we got there.  Our tickets were good for the first two matches (Serbia/Tunisia and Poland/Bulgaria).  We were bummed we wouldn’t get to see either USA or Great Britain play.

The Daily Schedule

Once we found out the schedule, we checked on the board for the standings to see who we would cheer for.

The Standings

I think we were really looking forward to the second match when Bulgaria played.  Not having any other ties to any of the other countries, we at least felt like we could cheer on a place we had been (and knew someone from – Caleb’s coach is from Bulgaria)

Inside the Venue

The first match was pretty solemn . . . no big fans from either side . . . no major upsets during the games . . . pleasant teammates.  Our chosen team – Tunisia ended up losing, but put up a good fight.

Tunisia/Serbia

Before the next match even started, we knew it was going to be a different ‘ball game.’  Fans were already up cheering, blowing noisemakers, and doing group cheers.

“Polska”

Poland and Bulgaria were the teams in the next match and Poland fans were EVERYWHERE in the stands.  Whenever we cheered for Bulgaria, we definitely felt out of place.

Poland/Bulgaria

Even with all the one-sided cheering, Bulgaria came out on top.  We thought that would be the end of the cheering, but Poland could not be silenced.  They did group cheers as we waited at each stage of the exit process (think herding cattle).  At least there was never a dull moment.

Exiting Earl’s Court for the Tube

Men’s Football Quarter-final

Our last ticketed event (and only event to attend as a family) was for the men’s football quarter-final at Wembley Stadium.

Wembley Stadium

We had never been to the stadium before and it really was amazing.  Our seats were pretty good – we could see everything and weren’t under the center opening (which proved to be a good thing as it rained during the game).

Wembley Field

We were only 6 of the 81,854 people there watching the game!

We watched Mexico beat Senegal.  It was pretty amazing to follow Mexico’s journey after that to the gold medal.

Miscellaneous

After an amazing week of our Olympic events, we were able to hear Peter Vidmar teach the youth lesson on Sunday.  He is actually a professional motivational speaker so you can imagine what the lesson was like!  I actually pulled Caleb out of Primary to sneak both of us into the lesson . . . and was so glad I did!

Peter Vidmar Teaching the Youth

It was great to hear Peter tell about his successes and how to stand for what you believe in during your life.  Definitely a pretty amazing guy!

Peter Vidmar with the Youth

The following Sunday we attended a fireside given by Vai Sikahema, another NBC commentator who happens to be LDS.  He talked a lot about his life and how the Gospel has helped him through it.  I loved the fact that after he was drafted by the NFL after his mission (not finishing school at BYU) that he went back later and finished his degree so he could graduate to be an example to his children.  His station (NBC10 in Philadelphia) sent a film crew and aired it . . . as well as Sikahema being a guest singer with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  There are so many opportunities to do what you love and be a missionary doing it.

The other fun things about being here during the Olympics is to see the mascots creep up with different themes.  There are 83 scattered throughout the city.  We’ve only seen a few.

Filmstar Wenlock

Southwark Wenlock

Pirate Wenlock

It was also neat to see a medal tree in Leicester Square.  For each medal Team GB earned, another medal was put in the tree.

Team GB Medal Tree

Royal Mail also started painting red post boxes gold to celebrate every Team GB Olympic gold medal.  It just so happens that one of the men on the men’s fours rowing team who brought home gold is originally from our town so we have a beautiful gold post box outside our town hall.  Way to go Pete Reed!

Our Town’s Gold Post Box

It is a sad feeling to know the Olympics are over.  We are excited to watch the Paralympics and feel their excitement as well!