London 2012

A Games to Remember

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing are and forever will be pretty damn hard to top. The Opening Ceremonies might have been the most amazing, unbelievable display of choreography and entertainment the world has ever seen. Outside of the phenomenal job done by the Chinese hosting the event, the Games comprised of a remarkable amount of engaging stories. You had Michael Phelps asserting an all-time dominance in the sport of swimming, you had Usain Bolt claiming the title of fastest man in the world with the fastest 100m time ever recorded in track and field, and you had the darling of the games, Shawn Johnson, mesmerizing every male teenager on Earth with her grace and beauty in Gymnastics. Underdog stories, dramatic upsets, miraculous come-from-behind victories, record-breaking performances…Beijing had it all.

Following that act is comparable to the guy who hit after Hank Aaron after he broke Ruth’s record. (By the way, fun fact: that guy was Dusty Baker).

I am not sure if it was possible to top the games in Beijing, but let me say this: although the various social mediums in today’s world ruined the results before they were aired on primetime NBC, London came pretty damn close. Let’s run through the highlights, best moments, stories, and also take a closer look at the American dominance of the 30^th Olympiad.

Girl Power

More than anything else, the London games will be remembered for the mark left by American women. For the first time ever, the women took home more medals than the men. If the American women were its’ own country, they would have the 5^th most medals, more than the entire nations like Japan, Germany, and France. We had Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh take home an unprecedented 3^rd straight gold in women’s beach volleyball, when they beat fellow Americans Jen Kessey and April Ross. We saw the next American star in swimmer Missy Franklin. Women’s gymnastics won only their 2^nd ever team gold, and their first since 1996. Gabby Douglas won gold in the all-around final, women’s soccer avenged their World Cup loss to Japan, and women’s basketball won a gold medal for the 5^th straight Olympics. Allyson Felix added another three golds in Track and Field. You go girls.

Swimming

With the help of Michael Phelps, swimming has become the marquee event of the summer games. I also think Rowdy Gaines helps with his emotional commentating. Remember when Lezak ran down the French in '08 and you just heard him in the background, “He did it! He did it! He did it!” Commentating can make a great sporting event turn into the legendary one. What if we didn’t have Al Michaels’ “Do you believe in miracles??!! Yes!!!” call during the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 games? Wow, I got REALLY off track here. Let’s get back to London and Swimming.

Pure and simple, USA dominated. They won 31 medals, twenty more than any other country. Going into the games, Ryan Lochte was the big story. After years of being in Phelps’ shadow, this was supposed to be Lochte’s time. Lochte’s time for the spotlight. Lochte trained much harder than Phelps, but still couldn’t out perform him. Lochte did turn the tables and finally beat Phelps in the 400im, an event that Phelps had not lost in nearly 10 years. However, Phelps still won six medals to Lochte’s five, and four gold medals to Lochte’s two. That was probably my favorite headline of the entire London Olympics. Everyone talked about how Phelps was washed up, taking too many bong hits, not training hard, and Lochte was going to kick his ass in London. Some Phelps fans even abandoned ship and hopped on the Lochte train. Well (here comes my favorite part!!), Phelps gave the entire world the finger and then laughed in our faces as won four more gold medals, and still proved to be the best swimmer in the world. I love that man. 

Another thing I found so cool about Swimming in London was this: we witnessed the end of a legend, but also, perhaps the beginning of a new one. Phelps has said that this will be the last time he swims competitively, and he will leave as the greatest Olympian who ever lived, but we saw the birth of Missy Franklin. Franklin at 17 years old, won four gold medals and a bronze. For a comparison, when Phelps was 18 years old, he won 4 golds and 2 silvers at the World Championships. I can’t wait to see what she does in Rio.

Gymnastics

Ah. My favorite. Sorry that sounded a little creepy.  But seriously, I love gymnastics in the Olympics. I don’t think any other sport provides as much tension. Waiting for the judges to submit their scores…watching your opponents compete right in front of you and then have them sit right next to you..it’s just great stuff. Not to mention, like many other 16 year old boys, I fell in love with Shawn Johnson in 2008 and have had a soft spot for the sport ever since. This year my crush was Aly Raisman (don’t worry Shawn, you will always have a place in my heart). God I got off track again, sorry.

Like I said before, the Women won the team final for the first time in 16 years, while Gabbie Douglas won the all-around and Raisman added gold in the Floor final. However, the biggest story coming out of the games may be McKayla Maroney.

Maroney is a vault specialist, and may have performed the greatest vault ever in the team final. But in the event final, after the commentators were making comments like: “Well quite frankly, her opponents know she is going to win. It’s just a matter of who will finish second.” Or: “If there was ever a shoe-in medal at these Olympic Games, it would be McKayla Maroney in the vault final.” And of course, Maroney sat down her 2nd vault and had to settle for silver. Her reaction to losing was the real story that sparked this social media phenomenon, when she failed to hug the winner of the event and then stood on the medal stand with a face of disgust.

Side note: Was anybody else worried about Maroney's future? Did anybody else get that vibe of a future...uh...I can't really think of a polite way to put this. But I think you get what I mean...

The men’s team was slightly disappointing, with only Danell Lleyva winning a bronze in the all-around final.

^^Hm, I guess that was a side note too. Moving on...

Women’s Soccer

I wasn’t going to give them their own subtitle, but I really just wanted an excuse to bring up Alex Morgan. God she is good looking. And what I didn’t know, supposedly she is on pace to become the best women’s soccer player in the world. I thought she was kind of just the “hey look at me I am hot and somewhat athletic type.” Wrong, she is actually really, really good. Her header in extra time put the US in the finals, where Carly Lloyd scored two goals to give America gold.

And can I just mention what a bad-ass Abby Wambach is? I don't care what sport I am playing, she is my #1 pick in the 1st round every single day of the week.

Track and Field

Usain Bolt proved he is still king of the mountaintop, sweeping both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, making him the first man to ever win both sprints in back-to-back Olympic games. The man knows how to put on a show. You know you are the man when the Americans would rather see you win then their own compatriots. Or was that just me?

I mentioned Allyson Felix and her gold medal exploits, but perhaps the most powerful moment came when Great Britain’s own Mo Farah took home the 5000-meter gold, and then followed that up by also winning the 10,000-meters. That was honestly one of the more surreal sports moments I’ve witnessed. A 10,000-meter race in track and field takes roughly about a half hour. I am not kidding, for the entire 27 minutes and 30 seconds that Farah was running, that stadium was going ballistic. Like absolutely crazy…the entire time. And when he came down the straight to finally win the gold, the place just exploded. Great stuff.

Tennis

Serena Williams added a gold medal for America and to her already outstanding tennis resume, but once again the best moment for me was when Andy Murray won gold in his own backyard of Wimbledon, finally breaking through in his troubled career. You can read my account of the gold medal match between him and Federer here.

Basketball

As I mentioned before, the American women won their 5^th straight Olympic gold, an unparalleled dominance in the sport. The men came in with a different sense of expectation. Led by Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and other NBA superstars, many drew comparisons to the 1992 Dream Team. Although they won the gold, those comparisons were thankfully put to rest. They did score a record-breaking 156 points against Nigeria…but c’mon, it was Nigeria. This 2012 team, although great and gold-medal worthy, proved that they are not in the same league as the Dream Team. Pau Gasol, PAU GASOL dominated the low post against this team. How do you think they would fare against Charles (I will destruct anything in my path) Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and David Robinson? 

I'll answer: They would get their ass handed to them.

First Time for Everything

Perhaps the most amazing story of them all, South African runner Oscar Pistorius became the first Paralympic athlete to ever compete with able-bodied athletes. Pistorius failed to make a final, but just being on the same playing field with artificial legs is a tremendously inspiring story.

Among some of the other “firsts” I have mentioned, David Boudia took home a gold medal for American diving, the first since Greg Louganis in 1988. see his clinching dive here. Kate Ledecky, only 15 years old, the youngest member of the entire U.S. Olympic Team, won gold in the swimming 800-meter freestyle. And Kayla Harrison became the first American ever to win a gold medal in Judo.

To close the 30^th Olympiad out, London displayed their rich musical tradition, showcasing representation from multiple generations in an once-in-a-lifetime three-hour performance. The 2012 London Summer Olympic games didn’t carry any unsettled political conflict or audacious protest; however, they will be known for maybe the last performances of two legends in Phelps and Bolt, a noteworthy excellence in security, a tremendous lack of scandal or positive drug tests, and maybe most of all…American triumph in the world’s greatest test of athletic supremacy.

-Chris Collins