Olympic Time!

What I wrote about the 2002 Olympics in my scrapbook years ago:

"Ever since Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics I knew I wanted to go....iceskating, curling, bobsled, whatever. I didn't care what event, I just wanted to be a part somehow. In the fall of 2001 Dax, a good friend of ours, called and told me he was going to try to get some tickets for the Opening Ceremonies. Did I want to go? Did I! Dax bought 4 tickets. The tickets cost $885.00 a piece. That just blew my mind! Bryan calculated that it would cost $5.00 per minute to attend and offered me the option of selling my ticket and being able to keep the cash for whatever I wanted. My brain went crazy with the possibilities but in the end I decided that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me since I've always been such a big fan of the Olympics. Bryan, on the other hand, did decide on cash over attending and sold his ticket to a friend of mine.
The high temperature for the day was only supposed to be in the low 20's. I bundled up in thermals, 2 pair of pants, 3 shirts, 2 pair of socks, 2 pair of gloves, a scarf, a heavy coat, a hat and a blanket with extra little feet warmers in my shoes. I was set! Dax, Kim and I caught the Olympic Shuttle Bus which dropped us at the University of Utah Stadium where Opening Ceremonies were to be held. The sights were amazing! News cameras, security, pin traders and, of course, all of us holding tickets to enter. (Did I mention the ticket scalpers?!) Going through security went a lot more quickly and smoothly than I had expected. We stopped to buy hotdogs and hot chocolate on our way to our seats. And then our excited, anticipated wait began. Al Roker and Matt Lauer were our pre-show hosts and we practiced for our audience participation parts of the program with them. They got us pumped and even more excited than we had already been. At 6:57 PM the countdown began. And then 5....4....3....2...1.... "Welcome to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah!!!" I can hardly describe the chills that ran up and down me. I was actually there!
The pageantry was incredible, the musical numbers, amazing. It was fun to to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing backup for Sting and Yo Yo Ma! The Parade of Nations was incredibly colorful and stirring. When they respectfully and reverently brought in the 9/11 Ground Zero American flag tears came to my eyes. It was wonderful to see President Bush, busy as he was, sitting in the middle of the USA athletes. And of course, there was the torch, the most recognized symbol of the Olympics. After being run across the country and all through the state, the cauldron was lit by the 1984 USA hockey miracle team. The crowd absolutely errupted as fireworks filled the sky. It was an amazing night!"

The Olympics are back. I'm so excited!