The Other Side of the Velvet Curtain
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on September 11, 2008
It’s only in retrospect that I have come to realize that schmoozing with the president of NBC and making small talk with Chris Tucker and Quincy Jones is not the typical Olympic experience.
And I can also tell you that it is not very typical to debate whether to go to the boxing semi-finals or get a VIP tour of the International Broadcasting Centre.
I don’t know exactly how we did it, but for two weeks we got to experience something so far out of the ordinary it rivals Michael Phelps’ eight Olympic gold medals.
Dancing with the US Greco-roman wrestling bronze medalists, kisses from Greek triatheletes, exchanging telephone numbers with the Croatian rowing team and clinking our Dom Perignon glasses with Quincy Jones and the Prince of Denmark had become routine.
Those nights were matched, however, when the following evening a hooded man took us aside when we were trying to get a cab to our now favorite destination, Chinadoll. We were captivated by his charm as well as his Australian accent. He told us his name was Ian and we asked him if we could take a picture together.
Looking initially hesitant, he agreed, and as our camera flashed so did about 30 other cameras. We looked behind us and realized the paparazzi was there and they were all yelling out to him, “Ian Thorpe, look this way.”
I didn’t recognize the names of all the athletes I had been meeting, but Ian Thorpe, Australian-born five-time Olympic swimming medalist, I knew. Now we were taking pictures with his arms around our waists.
Words can’t fully describe what happened in Beijing, but we definitely got the full experience of being part of something more than just the sports side of the Olympics. We got a glimpse into the world of the athletes after they cross the finish line and that was just as exhilarating as the games themselves.
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