Defying Gravity aka OMG WE WENT TO THE OLYMPICS!!!

So: We went to the Men's Gymnastics Final this afternoon, and it was phenomenal.

     First off, the crowds seem to be afraid of the crowds, so we've been able to breeze through trains and there was hardly a line for security into the arena. Although that was also a function of arriving several hours early for the event. However, North Greenwich Arena, built specially for the Olympics, is a pretty neat place to spend time. There were lots of restaurants, an 11 screen cinema, some exhibits, and lots of great people watching. Actually, we probably contributed to the people watching, but I'll let you see why in the pictures.
     Secondly, we had great seats.  Our perspective for all the events was great, and we were in a "suite" type box with a bunch of other people from all over, who were pretty friendly. Overall, the crowd was pretty fun. There was of course a big Home Team crowd, but Japan and China (favored teams) were well represented, Russia had a small but organized cheering section, Germany had a good turn out, and the US had fans scattered all over. So there was a really good vibe.
     And most importantly, the gymnastics were stunning. Really, it was like the guys could just turn off physics and do what they wanted. I've always been especially impressed by the free-hanging Rings... I can't imagine the strength and skill required to keep still on those things! Or do an amazing combination of flips and turns and then suddenly freeze. Anyway, there were 6 events: the Pommel-horse, the rings, the vault, the uneven bars, the high bar and floor exercises. It was amazing to watch all of them. The only bummer was that the US had a disappointing series of falls at the beginning which lost them a medal, but they had strong showings in their later events. And seriously, even if the US hadn't been in the finals at all it would have been totally worth it to see the class of athletes performing at the Olympics.
    It was an unforgettable experience, and one that I feel incredibly lucky to have shared in it.

Hey! Yeah, those are Olympic rings!!

Pictures in front of important places

We haven't found a real guard to pose with, so a statue will do.

On our way!

The Arena! Also called the O2 Dome, since it appears to be inflated. It's a pretty neat building.

We think this is the thingy that keeps the arena roof inflated.

In the O2 Arena

It's so big!! It filled up in a couple of hours, though. The posts are the main support structures for the roof.

And this is why we made for good people watching.

I helped, too.

So did Michael! And Scotty is good at framing shots... (:

Fully decked out

Go Team USA!   We got a lot of "oh, you must be from Australia!" or "Well, and where are you from?" It was a great conversation starter.

We're a little backlit, but you can tell how great our seats were.

The Bros

Rotating the cameraman

The media section was pretty impressive... aka most of one side of the arena.

Yay International Events!

The opening ceremony coupled with the media computers made for a pretty light show.

The arena holds 16,500 people... I'd estimate there was about 15,000 people there by the end.

The parallel bars and the high bars were really impressive. So were the Rings. It was like gravity didn't apply.

Speaking of gravity not applying... these kids can fly.

The final score board

That was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!