The Olympic Torch will arrive in Sochi, Russia, tomorrow via a stint aboard the International Space Station, where it accompanied Russian Cosmonauts on a space walk. Upon learning this little factoid, all I could think was: Holy Crap! The Olympic Torch has gone where no (man or person, depending on your STAR: Star Trek Age Reference) has gone before!
And isn’t that exactly what the Olympics are all about? The athletes push themselves to greater heights, faster times, and raise the standard on their own personal goals. Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time,” performed during the Opening Ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics, sums it up: “I want one moment in time, when I’m more than I thought I could be.” That song still gives me goose bumps.
So for the next 16 days, Sochi, Russia, will be in the epicenter of the sports spotlight. Ninety-eight events in 15 winter sports will dominate most of America’s television watching and water cooler talk.
I won’t be watching a whole lot of this. I mean seriously—I have a life here—but I’ll be tuning in to a few selected events, especially since it’s the first time women’s ski jumping has been included, to watch these young athletes push themselves to go where they may have never gone before: All the way to the Olympic Podium!
Next stop, the moon!