It's an epidemic of Olympic fever here in Beijing and even we have caught the bug. Initially we hadn't taken the time or the effort to try to buy tickets for the games. But, as luck would have it, a friend of ours was unable to go to the Judo competition that her and her husband had tickets for and so, gave them to us. After watching one Chinese woman, Xian Dongmei, a 33 year old mother, win the gold in the 52kg weight group, we'd gained a newfound interest in the sport. So when the chance came to actually see this event in person, we were thrilled. Here it was, our chance for a real Olympic experience and what an experience it was!
Before going, I checked the schedule to see if America was in the finals (78kg weight group for women, 100kg weight group for men), but as none of them had made the finals, I didn't pack a flag or dress up in red, white and blue. Actually, after arriving, I'd realized that had I dressed in red, white and blue, I'd have looked like I was supporting France, since one of their guys was competing.
We took a bus, and then walked the last block to the venue. The stadium was inside one of Beijing's many universities and you could judge just how close you were to the event area by the gradual increase in the number of foreigners and varieties of languages heard. Then, directed by hordes of volunteers and brand new bilingual signs, we worked our way back to the stadium. After going through security, which was certainly less evasive than US airports, we took our photos in front of the place, complete with a background of Fuwa Huan Huan (the red guy).
Again, with the help of thousands of volunteers in their blue shirts and khaki zip off pants, we easily found out seats and took in the sights. The television events that we had been watching all weekend came to life. Flags of all the nations adorned the ceiling; along with several big screen TV's. The entire place was immaculately decorated with all the 2008 Olympic colors and Beijing 2008 signage. Two beige fighting squares were outlined on two sides of the center area. Seats filled with judges, media personnel and leaders of the Olympic Games were placed on three sides. Our seats were comfortable plastic stadium seats, with carpet underneath our feet!
Before we sat down the preliminary matches had already begun. The semifinals happened first, followed by the two bronze medal matches, and finally, the gold-silver match. Just before they began the medal matches, the volunteers began rolling out the red carpet, which caused some confusion; why would they roll out the red carpet before the final matches had begun? Our question was soon answered, when a very large group of camera people flooded the edge of the newly carpeted area.
The matches began and it was hard to watch two matches at the same time. Our eyes darted back and forth, trying to catch any sudden moves that might change the expected outcome. I learned just how "in your face" Judo really is. The other martial arts that I have seen are more typical, where one can kick or hit someone at an arm's or leg's distance, but with Judo, it's like the martial arts' form of wrestling, making the competitors look each other square in the eye.
The women's matches came first and their gold medal match was certainly the extreme point in the night. It was China vs. Japan and given the history between these two nations, the intensity was thick. They started, grabbing, sweeping, pulling and back and forth it went without a single point on the board, until, Japan won 10 points. 30% of the audience cheered, while the other 60% remained quietly awestruck. The match continued, the tension grew and as time neared the end, it seemed as though no amount of cheering was going to bring China on top (pun intended)
But, suddenly, with 8 seconds left, Tong Wen, flipped Japan on her back and sent the crowd into ecstatic cheer. It was absolutely amazing. The entire place was electrified and roared with excitement. The only people happier than those of us cheering was Tong Wen herself and her coaching staff. After the final bow, she ran to the side lines and picked up her coach in a powerful embrace of triumph.
The men's match was less exciting for most people, as it was between Japan and Uzbekistan; Japan won the gold with just 10 points.
The awards ceremony was pretty cool too. They first outlined a little area for all the camera people to stand, then set up the stands for the Olympic champions. I stood there taking pictures while Tristin, along with thousands of other Chinese people, sang their national anthem. I also discovered that after watching so many Olympic events on our TV, I've learned part of the song!
Ok, well this story is going to be cut short, as it's now after midnight and we have an early start tomorrow morning. We've decided to go out of the city for the weekend, since most people aren't traveling right now, we're betting the travel time will be much less than usual. Let's hope we're right…