By Steven Shaff, NAU
Media Relations
Northern Arizona
student-athletes, coaches and staff will be blogging from London over the
course of the next two weeks. This is the second in a series of blogs about the
2012 London Olympics.
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| I posed proudly at Fulton County Stadium in the press box at the 1996 Summer Olympics. |
In 1994, I volunteered
for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games held in Atlanta. They were going to be held a
five-hour drive from Gainesville, Fla., where I worked at the University of
Florida in the media relations department, two years later. How many times were
the Olympics going to be within driving distance? It was a great opportunity
and I had to do it.
I secured a spot on the
media team for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as a writer.
We were randomly assigned sports to cover for the ACOG website, producing
recaps and features during the games. The goal was to serve as a news service
for the event in Atlanta.
To qualify for my
position, I had to cover a test event in Atlanta during the summer of 1995 to
earn my credentials. I was chosen to cover badminton. Now, I had played
badminton once or twice but knew nothing about the event. I had to do a lot of
homework. The biggest challenge was doing interviews via translators, as most
of the top players did not speak English. It was a difficult task but I got the
hang of the sport, the interviews and my responsibilities.
We were not paid for
the work or provided housing. So my first task in preparation for the following
summer was to secure a place to stay. I needed to be in Atlanta for the
duration of the games – two weeks. After asking around, I found that a friend
of my dad’s daughter lived in Atlanta and would be willing to “rent” me her
spare bedroom. The cost: Florida-Georgia football tickets. As a UF employee I
got two tickets every year to the game in Jacksonville called “The World’s
Biggest Cocktail Party”. I worked the games so I had no use for the tickets. While
it hurt me to give my tickets award to a Bulldog fan, they helped me in a big
way.
The plan was to take
vacation – all of my vacation that year – to work in Atlanta. I was not super
excited to cover badminton but I was going to the Olympics. Two weeks before I
was to travel to Atlanta, I got a call from my boss at ACOG. My assignment had
been switched to baseball.
Now I have been a
baseball fan all my life and had just finished my first season as the baseball
sports information director for the Gators. We went to College World Series,
finishing third in the nation in 1996. Our top player was a freshman named Brad
Wilkerson, who would go on to play in the 2000 Olympics and win a gold medal.
Obviously, I was
excited beyond belief. I arrived in Atlanta to the credential processing site
to get my pass and uniform. All employees were required to wear the Olympic
uniform, including shirt, pants, belt and shoes. We actually got two shirts so
you did not have to do laundry every day.
I stayed in Marietta,
which is North of Atlanta so I had the pleasure of taking MARTA through
downtown to Atlanta-Fullton County Stadium, the baseball venue and then home of
the Atlanta Braves. I watched a World Series games against the Yankees their
later that year.
One of my top memories
of my experience was attending the practice Opening Ceremonies. It was the full
show minus a few of the celebrities. If you remember Muhammad Ali lit the
cauldron, so he had a stand in. I think it was a Wednesday and all the volunteers
were invited to attend. I was amazed the stadium was full.
I had to cover three
games a day and write at least two features each day. I had a seat in the press
box with my own Olympic broadcasting television that had every feed from every
venue. I could watch anything I wanted to. It was cool.
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| R.A. Dickey |
The United States
roster included of host of future Major League players including current Met
R.A. Dickey (Tennessee), former Diamondbacks Augie Ojeda (Tennessee) and Travis
Lee (San Diego State), Troy Glaus (UCLA) and Jacque Jones (USC) to name a few.
Overall, there were eight countries participating: Australia, Cuba, Italy,
Japan, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, South Korea and the United States.
Over the next 10 days,
I covered every game of the Olympic tournament. Cuba was the top team in the world
and Japan and South Korea were pretty good too. I remember penning features on
Jones, who was one of top collegiate players in the country, and the Italian
baseball team after a big victory.
The United States
finished third behind Cuba and Japan.
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| Centennial Park from the ACOG offices in downtown Atlanta. |
I had one day off
during the event and took advantage of the free time to visit the Olympic
Centennial Park in downtown. I had lunch in the park area and wanted to stay
for a concert later that night. But I was exhausted and had plans to have
dinner with my hosts.
Later that night, there
was a terrorist attack via pipe bomb that killed two people and injured 111 at
Centennial Park. With the recent news about the shooting in Aurora, Colo., the
feelings I had about the incident have been on my mind this week. Even though I
was not there at the time, I was that day. It was scary. I did not feel safe
and my Olympic experience was tarnished. Would there be another incident? I
almost went back to Gainesville.
I did a couple
interviews with the newspapers in Gainesville and Tucson with reporters that
knew I was in Atlanta. They asked if I was going to stay. I decided that the
incident was not going to send me running. I decided it was one bad person who
did a very bad thing. I was not going to leave. I would finish my
responsibilities.
Today, July 27, is the
16-year anniversary of the bombing and the start of another Summer Games in
London. I will watch the Opening Ceremonies with great excitement for many
reasons including my own experience.
I also will remember watching
four years ago and the pride I felt when Northern Arizona’s Lopez Lomong was
the flag bearer for the United States. It will be a special night and a memorable
next two weeks.
Let the Games begin!
