Big Red One
By Bill Ward
8/7/08
It’s the smallest field in four years, yet it’s the biggest crowd seeking glory. It’s a pressure cauldron, where reputations are made and lost. Many will strive, few will succeed. Everything is on the line; tempers will flare, tears will be shed, thousands of words will be written in heated critical analysis.
And that’s just for those trying to get an upgrade to business class on the flights to Beijing.
For the athletes, the stakes are even higher. The Olympic Games are here. They’re in China. This is the one everyone wants to win. It’s the Big Red One, and it kicks off in two days.
Funny thing about World Championships and the Olympic Games. All season long, the fencers use the rhythm of coming in a day or two before the event, fencing, and then going home. It’s worked well for women’s saber. They’ve won every World Cup or Grand Prix they entered this year, save one, and only lost the gold medal by a point in Budapest. All on the in & out theory of competition.
Yet, when it comes to the Olympics, the fencers left home 12 full days before their first competition, 16 days before team. In a way, it’s almost like the cadre is practicing preventive scheduling; they’re so focused on not taking heat for the athletes not being “acclimated” that they run the risk of having the competitors become extremely road weary by the time the actual event rolls around. This appeared to be a big problem for the WS Squad last October at the Worlds in St. Pete's, where it was nearly 20 days on the road before the team competition.
It’s a tough call either way, because no one wants to arrive at the last minute and discover--like the fencers did--that they couldn’t stay at Beijing Normal University if they were credentialed into the Athlete’s Village, then have to deal with the location change only to fence a day or two later. Hopefully everyone gets lots of rest, and no carpal tunnel syndrome erupts from the hours and hours of frenetic “Rock Band” jam sessions that have captured their fancy during their down time.
The air in Beijing is dense. Not too fumy so far, but only about two blocks visibility this morning. Several members of US Cycling showed up at baggage claim in Beijing wearing black face masks for the thick air, and then--allegedly spontaneously--filed a written apology to the BOCOG authorities. No word on how many of the 2,165 local residents I saw last night wearing masks out on the street filed similar retractive paperwork with the boys in the BOCOG.
News conference with the fencers this morning, then the drawing of lots, with the DE brackets drawn up later today, we hear. The Big Red One is rumbling closer.