The 2012 Summer Olympics, the XXX Olympiad, begin in just a couple of weeks, and now seems as good a time as any to talk about moments. I have always favored the Summer Olympics to Winter simply because of the depth of intriguing events -- I love hockey, speed skating, and some of the newer skiing events, but I don't pay attention to nearly as many Winter Olympic events -- so this is a pretty exciting time.
My anti-social tendencies typically lead me to choose odd favorites, but when it comes to the Olympics, I am as predictable as it gets. I loved Michael Johnson's running in 1996, Carl Lewis' domination in the 1980s (when I was first getting to know sports), the '92 Dream Team's oft-hilarious run, etc. But my favorite is this, creative or not:
All I can say is, this happened when I was 13, insecure and a full-on teenage cynic. I found ironic humor in everything. I was, generally speaking, rather insufferable. But this broke me down. I'm pretty sure I avoided full-on tears watching this live, but it was really, really close. This is everything you could possibly want from the "Olympic Spirit," and it's still incredibly tough (and great) to watch.
So that's my favorite moment. What's yours?
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