During my first two Olympic events, I was exposed to one of the elements that keeps the Games such an important world event: the prevalence of national pride in sport.
This exposure began the same day as the start of my Olympic experience: On Sunday, August 10, I went with two friends to see the morning session of women’s field hockey pool play.
It took us a while to get to the Olympic Green (while Chinese cab drivers have many good qualities, knowledge of the city and of how to get from place to place is not one of them), and we were greeted with complimentary ponchos when we arrived.
Due to our delayed arrival, it was already halftime of the first game (most Olympic tickets got you in to back-to-back games) when we took our seats amid the driving rain. During the next 35 minutes, we would not witness a single goal, as Japan successfully held a 2-1 lead over New Zealand. But it didn’t matter; we were at the Olympics.
Our second game was a bit more exciting, as we watched the host Chinese team take on Spain. The atmosphere inside the small stadium was electric, as the home fans passionately cheered every possession and every pass made by their heroes. Never mind that they didn’t know what a penalty corner was—they were here to support their country.
So when the Chinese scored in the game’s opening minutes, the crowd erupted. And when they found out two minutes later that the goal hadn’t counted, they were undeterred. Two disqualified goals later, the fans finally got what they were waiting for, a reward for all of their “Jia You” shouting: The Chinese team struck first, firing a backhand shot into the upper right corner. The crowd erupted even louder.
When it was all said and done, China led 3-0 at the half. Knowing that the game was in hand, and satisfied with our first Olympic exposure, we headed to the shuttle bus to begin our long trip home. But I’m sure every Chinese supporter stayed until the final whistle.
The next day’s event was one I had been anticipating much more. While the four teams we saw were pretty random, I was really excited to at least see some Olympic basketball.
We once again arrived late, this time thanks to the brutal Beijing traffic (caused in part by special “Olympics” lanes which never had cars in them) and a prolonged stay at the world’s ritziest Haagen-Dazs.
We were still able to catch the second half of the game between the Korean and Russian women, two teams who play with completely different styles. The Koreans shot the lights out, but it was the Russians who were able to eke out a small victory thanks to superior inside play.
Our next game, Belarus-Latvia, should have been much duller, as it was a match-up between two bad teams that ended up being a 20-point blowout. Luckily, we were sitting in the right section.
Around 15 minutes before the opening tip, an army of Belarusian athletes, coaches, and supporters walked into the gym, distributing Belarusian flags to our entire section before taking their respective seats.
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