Pop some popcorn and wave your American flag! The Olympics are here!
In what seems like a world gone mad we are taking a pause in the crazy to focus our attention on Paris, France and those 5 beautiful rings that unite us all. That’s right folks, the Summer Olympics are finally here! It’s been a LONG four years since 2020 and I, for one, cannot wait to kick off the games tonight and watch those USA Olympic Medals start rolling in!
I have been stalking the internets for all things Olympics and let me just tell you, for a sports junkie like me, you can get all you want and more out there right now! Here’s my top few “events to watch” but please feel free to tell me your favorites, I may just add them to my schedule!
- Women’s Basketball (well…obviously) – even though a few of my current favorites didn’t make the roster I’m still all in for the win with the Women’s Basketball team. They are representing a long line of successes and I expect nothing less this go round!
- Athletes to Watch: Diana Turasi – she’s 42 and still a baller!
- When to Watch: First Game is July 29th at 2:00
- Men’s Basketball…also a natural for me – This star studded team has the weight of the world (literally) on their shoulders as USA basketball has been a force for decades.
- Athletes to Watch: I’m sticking with Steph Curry and (I guess) LeBron James…though you won’t convince this girl he will ever out-GOAT MJ.
- When to Watch: First Game is July 28th at 10:00
- Women’s Gymnastics – men’s gymnastics is amazing too, it just doesn’t call to me the way the ladies sport does. These ladies are just flat out fun to watch and I will be there for as many minutes as I possibly can to take it all in.
- Athletes to Watch: I’ve written about it before and I cannot wait for Simone Biles to have her triumphant return to the world stage. She endured a good bit of, well, crap, at the 2020 Olympics and has worked hard to make her way back. Not to mention she looked amazing during the trials. Obviously, since she won the overall to earn her place.
- When to Watch: Competition begins July 28th at 2:30
- Track and Field. All Of IT!! I think it’s something about being older and slower…or, as I have discussed before, my general inability for all the running things, that makes me appreciate all the track and field athletes. I can’t even narrow it down to one particular area…I just love to watch them all. And I hate to run, but if they ever have a spot open for an over 40 distance for health walker in the Olympics I may have a medal in my future yet!
- Athletes to Watch: There are just too many to pick…so watch them all!
- When to Watch: Events start August 1st
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Let’s talk about the opening ceremonies, though. By far, this is my favorite part of the Olympic Games. All the pomp, circumstance, and excitement that we deserve leading up to and building excitement for the upcoming competitions. The beauty before the brawn. During this ceremony each country is able to showcase not only the Olympic ideals but each country’s incredibly unique culture and identity – their individual flavors, if you will.
While the original games showed off the celebrations of the times, think trumpets and marching, our modern day ceremony is of epic proportions. Tonight we can expect about 6,800 athletes to parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). The parade of boats will traverse the Seine and offer the athletes a unique view of several of the Olympic venues including La Concorde Urban Park (3X3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling, skateboarding), Invalides (archery, athletics — marathon finish, road cycling — time trial start) and the Grand Palais (fencing, taekwondo). The parade ends at the Iena Bridge, which links the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine to the Trocadéro district on the right bank. The ceremony’s finale is at the Trocadéro. There, among other ceremonial procedures, French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver opening remarks. An epic journey to say the least. And then thrown in a performance by Celine Dion and Lady Gaga and I don’t think you can possibly ask for much more!
And should we find ourselves in an unexpected dull moment…never fear.
Remember we have the Dogg to keep us in the know!
If you are like me and want to know all the things but also need to accomplish all the things the Olympic Games have a fantastic website to keep an eye on the medal chase, and I will try to interject a few extra updates myself over the coming weeks. Follow all the fun online at https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024
Until next time…that’s how the ball bounces.
Read more from How the Ball Bounces with Bekka in the archives at www.mysaline.com/bounces.
About the author: Bekka Wilkerson is a lifelong lover of all things sports. Raised in a super athletic household it was no surprise when she too began to love sports at a young age. It seems like from the time she could walk she had a softball bat in her hands, but her true athletic passion came from all things Basketball. That love served her well as a Bryant High School Lady Hornet and ultimately earned her a full scholarship to play at the University of Central Arkansas – among many other adventures.
These days Bekka can be found running around Saline County with her husband, Speedy, or chasing one of her grandsons. She is also the Executive Director of The EMpact One Foundation, a Saline County Nonprofit Organization that helps young people stay connected to extracurricular activities through tuition assistance and equipment provisions.
Reach out to Bekka with questions and/or ideas about things you want to see in this column at [email protected] and learn more about The EMpact One Foundation at www.empactone.org.