| Watching the Olympics also has me reminiscing about my own experience at the Winter Olympics in 1980. No, I won't tell you that I was a member of the Mens Hockey Team that won the "miracle on ice" and beat the Russians. (Although they did beg me to skate....) And I won't lie and tell you that I was a ski jumper, or a member of the 2-men bob sled teams...
I played in the orchestra. Yes... you heard it right. I played trumpet in the Orchestra for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. We had passes, and were able to see quite a lot of the outdoor events. My favorites were the ski jumpers and the speed skaters. The Speed skating was done on an outdoor track! (Things have changed a lot in the past 30 years) |
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That's me at the base of the Olympic Torch, with a friend (Kathy Turcotte). I think Kathy played piccolo in the orchestra. The people next to us were from Austria. We were there rehearsing before the actual opening ceremonies. |
| Another friend of mine, Chris Apostle played Clarinet. In the background you can see the unlit torch, as well as where our orchestra played. It was a "dome" of sorts... Lots of microphones, but no heat.... |  |
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I took this picture during the "Parade of Nations". That's when all of the athletes march into the arena. We had to play during the entire entrance. I can't remember how long it took exactly, but I seem to recall playing the same piece for almost 30 minutes while they entered! |
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| This was my view of the torch being lit... Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be taking pictures while I'm playing my trumpet... but what can I tell you?!
The flame was actually lit at ground level, and then it rose up the three pillars. That's an air balloon floating above us... |
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Trading pins with the Russians. They also were trading for our jeans !! They WANTED them used.... Apparently a good pair of used jeans in Russia was quite a find... |
Speed Skating was one of the events that I could see (for free) with my Olympics ID Pass. I don't remember who this particular skater was, but I think that this was the year that Eric Heiden won a bunch of medals speed skating for the US ! If you look closely, USA is in first place on the score board. |
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One final look at the Olympic Flame and the ski jumps in the back ground... |
eeeeeek ! Great picture, huh?! |
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A great picture from Sports Illustrated.... |
While on February break this year, I found myself watching a lot of the winter olympics. The competition is always so close, and the contests are all exciting.... (well, except for curling...)
