It is over.
The 2002 Olympic Winter Games are now part of history.

I, along with nearly everyone else who has watched the games, have been duly impressed with the overall presentation. Even after all of the scandal and speculation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) put on an amazing event. No, that might not be enough to encompass the Games. Possibly, “spectacle” would be better suited to describe it.

I missed the Opening Ceremonies, mostly by choice. I watched most of the Closing Ceremonies, on TV, as they were occurring. Very well done. And the closing fireworks display: Amazing. It was one of the, if not THE, most impressive display(s) that I have ever seen. We watched them, live, from Adrian’s; he lives about a mile, as the crow flies, from Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium.¹ We felt the ground shake from that distance. Again, “amazing” is the only word that I can think of.

In the end, it can be said that the world came to Utah, and moreover to Salt Lake City, and everyone survived the experience. It has definitely been an interesting experience. I’ve gone from being rather apathetic about the games being here to being mildly interested to excited about them. Not too bad for a two week span, especially considering that I wasn’t even here for one of those weeks.

My father called me at the end of the live broadcast of the Closing Ceremonies to say that he had enjoyed the coverage of the games and ceremonies. Baltimore and Washington, D.C. are working in a joint venture to be candidate cities to host the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. Based on what I have seen and experienced during the past two weeks, if they are awarded the Games, I would definitely like to be there.

But for now, as the games have ended and the hour grows late, goodnight from Salt Lake City.

Peace.

¹ I wonder if The University of Utah will retain the name “Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium” now that the Games are over. In my opinion, it would be a wise move. I think that it would add what I can only think of as “international prestige” to the stadium, and by association – the school. Of my friends that I asked, no one can really identify neither of the people for whom the stadium was named. What do you think that those names mean to people living outside of Utah (or Salt Lake City)? I don’t know if any other American cities which have hosted Olympic games have kept “Olympic” in the names of the arenas, but I would be interested to find out if they have.