Let the Games Begin!

Finally, the games have begun, the city is starting to come to life, and Glenn and I are along for the ride!  We attended our first Olympic event yesterday---more on that below---but first a few words on what I think is special about these Olympic Games and what they have meant for Paris and France.  

Friends will know that I've always been a bit of an Olympics skeptic, critical of IOC's corruption and exploitation of its monopoly position, cities' eagerness to undercut their citizens and mortgage their futures to host, and athletes' willingness to do literally anything for one fleeting moment of glory. (Because the winter Olympics is lower stakes in every way, it seems to suffer less from all of these issues.)  So it is with a bit of uneasiness that I tune in to watch every couple of years, but still I do tune in, for glimpses into unusual sports, the excitement and drama of competition, and the pageantry of international competition.  We did not choose this year or this city for our sabbatical because of the Olympics, but here we are.  And because we are here and because I'm quite sure that I will never go to another Olympic Games in my life, we decided that we would hitch a ride on this train.

The excitement and annoyance and fear over the Olympics has been building in Paris all year.  Many Parisians, with no tolerance for the disruptions, have left the city for the duration.  I have spoken to other Parisians who are afraid of opportunistic crimes and terrorist attacks.  Others are mad about the massive outlay of public funds and stories about mismanagement and waste.  But there is a contingent that is happy and excited and hopeful that Paris will run a spectacular event and all of its charms and glories will be showcased for the world.  I'm sure that there's truth to all of these thoughts.

Of course, I've never been to an Olympic Games before, so I have little basis for comparison.  I have heard, though, that the Paris Games are unusual in that so many of the venues are temporary ones set in the heart of the city, instead of stuck out in the suburbs in new, purpose-built facilities.  Paris is using its parks, monuments, and historical buildings as settings and backdrops for many of the events.  (And, famously, it used the Seine as the setting for unusual and spectacular opening ceremonies on Friday night.)  Dropping the world's largest sporting event into the center of a city of 10 million people is going to cause a lot of disruption.  (Hence, the many Parisians who have left early for their summer vacations, giving the city a remarkably quiet and empty feeling.)  

For those intrepid few who stay behind, though, it has been wonderful.  For instance, I took Sandy for a walk on Saturday and heard some cheering in the distance.  We walked towards the noise to investigate, and we were able to position ourselves right next to a barricade for a front row view.  It was the men's cycling time trials, rushing along the Boulevard St Germain---our first Olympic event, and one that we just stumbled on!  Also, since the city is so quiet, restaurants are half-full or less, and we have been taking advantage.  On Saturday night, we went to a nearby pub to watch France win the gold in rugby 7's.  Sandy, Glenn, and I had a whole corner of the place to ourselves and a perfect view of the big screen.

Then, yesterday, was to be our first (ticketed) Olympic event, women's team archery.  Neither of us had even seen competitive archery before, so we were a little surprised to find out that we would see the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and medal matches all in one afternoon.  The venue was a temporary one, set up in the large lawn leading up to Invalides.  It is a spectacular domed building on the river built originally as a military hospital by Louis XIV, and it now serves as both a military museum and the burial place for Napoleon.  We can see the Invalides dome from our window and could have easily walked there, but decided to take the metro a few stops to get to our venue.  

The vibe of city down by the river was a lot different than in our neighborhood, just a 20-minute walk from the river but enough away from the venues and off of the Olympic tourist radar.  There were people milling around and lots of different languages being spoken.  We saw credentialed journalists, uniformed Olympics hospitality staff, athletes and coaches, and quite a few tourists.  Many visitors had taken to bicycles to sightsee and get around---the city tried hard to make its large bike-share program easy and accessible for tourists coming for the Olympics.

Here is a view, from near our venue, across the river to the Grand Palais, which is being used for fencing, I believe.

You might be able to tell from the photo that crowds were not overwhelming and crowd-control seemed entirely effective (if maybe a little heavy-handed).  It was a busy, festive vibe nonetheless.

We settled into our seats for the competition and quickly got the sense that the crowd had a pro-Korean tilt to it.  South Korea is a perennial world and Olympic champion in archery, so it was not too surprising.  We could tell from the flags that there was a smattering of German and Chinese fans, and quite a few Mexican fans, as well.  (The US team had come into the competition seeded eighth but missed making it to the semi-finals, so we did not have a chance to root for our hometown team.)

We didn't have much skin in the game but felt our allegiances shift towards the Mexicans and South Koreans, due to their vocal fanbases.  We saw many matches (Are they called "matches"?), some with a lot of suspense and drama, some that seemed like foregone conclusions.

In the end, the Mexicans barely lost to the Chinese in the semi-final but bested the Netherlands for the bronze, and the South Korean team won a nail-biter against the Chinese to take home yet another gold.  The final match came down to a single arrow on the border between 9 and 10 points, which the judges needed to inspect, as the Korean fans sat nervously.  It fell Korea's way, and a huge cheer erupted.  Here's a bit of the celebration:

  

We had a great time, taking in the Olympic ambiance, walking along the river to see it decked out with flags and other decorations, learning a little bit about archery, and cheering on the competitors.  And we have several more events to come!