LET THE GAMES BEGIN......

The 2012 Olympic Games that is....

The Host Nation being London. The Opening Ceremony, a celebration showcasing the best of London.  The eyes of the world is on London for the Opening Ceremony...does it even come close to the 2008  Olympics in Bejing?

The name of the Olympic Opening Ceremony show is "Isles of the Wonder".  The ceremony kicks off the sound of the largest haromically tuned bell in Europe, "BIG BEN".

The Parade of the atlethes participating in the games, nation by nation, procede into the arena, by alphabetical order (except for the Greek teams, they enter first, and the host team last.)  Then the Olymic flag is carried into the stadium, then the torch, the cauldron is lite, and continues to burn while the games are being played.

With the opening and closing ceremonies, there is a total cast of 15,000 people particiapting, which will be watched by an estimated audience of 4 billion people.

The Olympics are so meaningful to me.....I love the commentary and all the stories behind the altheltes lives, and i have a few that come to mind.

PEGGY FLEMING... known for her beauty and grace on and off the ice.  She dominated women's figure skating in the 60's.  At age 19, she was the only American to take home Gold.  After Olympic's, she turned professional, signing with the Ice Follies.  I have never met her, but she is a Fleming, greg's 3rd cousin ( greg did meet her).

Then there's "BRUCE JENNER".  He captivated the world when he broke the world record in the decathilon at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and earned the title of "Worlds Greatest Athletic", and he was one of many on the Wheaties box.

GREG LOUGANIS" is probably the greatest American diver of all time.  Over 3 Olympic's he won 5 medals, 4 of which were gold.

"MICHAEL PHELPS"... after winning his 8th gold metal in Beijing, Phelps became the most decorated ever Olympian with 14 gold in total.

"CASSIUS CLAY/MUHAMMED ALI" won gold at the 1960 Summer Olmypics in Rome. (I think he was fast as a butterfly yet stings like a bee?)

What about "SHAWN JOHNSON".  She is now a retired american Artistic gymnast.  She was the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and all arounder.  In 2009, Shawn became the winner of Dancing with the Stars....

"APOLO OHNO"... an American short track speed skating competitor and an 8 time medalist (2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze) in Winter Olympics.  He is the most decorated american Olympic athlete of all time.

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London have begun, and we have been glued to them!  Swimming, Biking, Volleyball and gymnastics so far....

With His AMAZING GRACE.....

GO USA!!!!