Basketball paradise

8/25/08 17:55 Local Time, Media Village

It seems like not long ago I was writing to say that I couldn't believe all of this was really happening to me and it hadn't quite sunk in yet that I was really here. Well, I'm still waiting for someone to wake me up from this dream because even now that the Games are over, I still can't believe this is real. I have had so many opportunities here to do things that I would never normally get the chance to do. It's a very bittersweet time with everything coming to a close -- I'm very ready and excited to get back home, but at the same time, it's hard to leave such an amazing place. I don't want to have to wake up.

Today was officially my last day of work. I was going around all day thinking about how everything that had turned into the ordinary every-day sights for me I will never get to see again. I drove my last golf cart through the Olympic Green. I went into the Water Cube to stare out over the pool one last time. I took my last walk through the IBC and my last bus rides to and from the Media Village. It was sad to see everything being taken down, but at the same time everyone was celebrating because we just accomplished so much during the broadcast of these Games. I had the chance to watch Bob Costas' final broadcast from the studio and when they showed the highlight reel at the end of the show, I almost cried. It's just like the videos they showed us back in October from the Athens Games that gave me chills and made me ache to be in Beijing. Watching this year's video, I had chills because I was there for all of it, and I saw a lot of the very best moments with my own eyes. It's an experience I'll definitely never forget, and even though I hated parts of my job at times (the long hours, the manual labor, etc.), I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I'm already anxious for a spot on the crew headed to Vancouver.

Before my Olympic experience ended, I got to see so much. I was in the control room on our compound for the last night of diving when Australian Matt Mitcham had a perfect last dive in the men's 10m platform final and upset the Chinese favorite for gold. With the victory, Mitcham broke up a perfect 8 gold medal sweep of the diving events for the Chinese. It was by far one of the best moments of the Games.

Yesterday was a short day of work because we could only pack up so much of our compound before all of our electronic equipment was taken away, so we got to go to the men's basketball final for the afternoon. On our way to the venue, another girl from Syracuse and I bought a giant American flag and decided we were going to be as loud and obnoxious as possible for our Syracuse boy, Carmelo Anthony. The stadium was incredible, and it was packed by the time we got there, but we managed to find standing space pretty close to the court and we wasted no time before jumping and screaming and dancing with our flag. It got to a point where random people started taking our pictures. How could you not be excited, though, standing so close to an Olympic final basketball game that Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony are all playing for the same team at?! It was the most fun I've ever had at a basketball game. And it's fun to cheer for your country instead of just one area that you happen to be a fan of. It was definitely unlike anything I've ever experienced. And the U.S. team defeated Spain! Of course we freaked out and people laughed at us.

Before the medal ceremonies started, the place was clearing out so my friend and I hopped over some railings to find some good seats to see our American boys in all their glory. We got down pretty far, until two security guys stopped us because David Beckham was just two rows in front of us. We grabbed our cameras so quickly that people were looking at us funny again. At one point when we were singing and dancing away with our flag for our team, we must have made a lot of noise because even Beckham turned around to laugh at us. When he did, I got his attention and asked if he would sign something for me, and he smiled and nodded and had me go down to him. I shook his hand and got his autograph and I think it was quite possibly very near the top of my list for the best 30 seconds of my life.

When the medal ceremony finally started, we were making so much noise for Mello that he actually pointed to us, and Kobe Bryant pointed right at us then up to the sky when he was standing on the podium. I mean really, we couldn't be missed, but we were still so excited to have actually gotten their attention. My friend who works at basketball got Carlos Boozer's Olympic flowers after the ceremony, so I got to hold them for a little bit. It's those little things that make me so excited that I really can't believe I'm here. It was awesome to stand as a proud spectator when they raised the American flag and played our national anthem.

When we finally got back to the Media Village, three of our cameramen took my friend and I to dinner at a local restaurant right outside the Village. I tried so many cool foods that I never would have even thought about eating at home. I'm going to be so sad to leave this food because it was absolutely delicious last night, as it always is here. And our crew guys were awesome to go with! They're hilarious and we had a great time and got to see the Closing Ceremonies on a TV in the restaurant.

After dinner, a bunch of interns got together to go out to Houhai for one kid's birthday. We found this tiny little bar with no one in it and we made friends with the bartenders fairly quickly, so by the middle of the night we had turned the place into an American college bar, with our music blasting off of someone's iPod and all. It was an awesome time and a great way to spend one of my last nights in the city.

We finished packing up our compound at work today and took some final pictures and said our goodbyes. The torch is no longer lit at the Bird's Nest and our compound became suddenly empty and lonely. It's so hard to believe that this is all coming to an end so soon. My Olympic experience has already ended, but my Beijing experience still has 48 hours left!