Olympics-Opening Ceremony

I just watched the opening ceremonies for the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing and I am pumped. I LOVE watching the Olympics. The opening ceremonies always inspire a sense of patriotism for America and a hope for world peace as I watch the athletes marching and representing their countries. I also get excited for the days ahead that promise to hold great stories of triumph and even failure. I get caught up in the stories of the athletes and how hard they have worked to get to the Olympics to even compete. There are many countires where the athletes have no hope of winning a medal, but they are still proud to represent their country just the same.

Now the opening ceremonies tonight represented a lot for the Chinese people. They want badly to show the world that they have become a great nation that should stand as a superpower once again. I really enjoyed the creative dancing and all the performances. I always get a little emotional when they have little kids. This time they had chinese children dressed up in costumes singing a song to welcome everyone. Bob Costas said they were the best opening ceremonies ever, but I'd have to say Salt Lake or Sydney's were better.

My favorite story of the night was this: Yao Ming is a famous basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets. He is 7 feet 6 inches and was chosen to carry the flag for China. As he walked in there was a little boy who was waving around two little flags, one was the chinese flag and one was the olympic flag. Then Bob Costas told us why he was there. The little boy's name is Lin Hao and he is 9 years old. Lin was in school when China suffered the devastating earthquakes in Sichuan Provice that killed 70,000 people in May of this year. After the earthquake destroyed his school he pulled himself from the rubble and then pulled two of his classmates from the rubble also. When asked why he did this he stated that he was a leader in his class, he was the hall monitor and it was his job to take care of the others. Lin Hao was brave and only thought of helping others. He represented a lot when he walked along side of Yao Ming and the Chinese flag. The earthquake hit the country hard and devastated the lives of many people. Lin Hao is a picture of hope and healing for all of the Chinese people. Later on, he probably had the best seat in the house as Yao Ming lifted him up and held him so Lin could be able to see over all the people. He should have had a great view from the 7 foot 6 inch Ming.