Let the Games Begin

A raucous, pyrotechnic-filled ceremony officially opened the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing last night. 91,000 people in the Olympic Stadium, named the Bird's Nest for its unique appearance, watched the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks. The opening ceremony is expected to be viewed by 4 billion people worldwide. It airs tonight in the U.S. at 7:30 PM on NBC.

Unfortunately because of the 12-hour time difference, it won't be easy for C-LO and I to keep an updated diary of the events, something we had considered doing a few months ago. The only way we could have done this is to have read about the events online before they had been aired on TV, ruining the joy of watching sports greatest gathering. Instead, we'll give a short preview of the Games. What to watch for, who to watch for, and who will be crowned the Gold Medal champions.

This year's games promise to provide the most captivating medal race since the Cold War. And that race, of course, will be between the U.S. and China. Now, much has been said in the U.S. about the mens basketball team, and their quest to top the world again, after a poor showing at the '04 Games in Athens. In reality though, mens basketball is one of the least important events in terms of the medal count race. See only two possible gold medals can be won in the basketball event, a gold for the men's tournament and the women's tournament. So, while I am excited to watch Kobe, Lebron, and D-Wade hopefully dominate the rest of the world in their quest for gold, this event holds little bearing in the overall medal count.

Where the U.S. really has to make their mark is in the medal-rich sports that they are best at: track and field and swimming. In the pool, all eyes will be on Michael Phelps who begins his quest for a record 8 gold medals. If Phelps is able to reach his goal, he will break Mark Spitz's record for for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games (Spitz captured seven medals swimming in '72 Munich Games). Arguably his greatest hurdle will come in the 4X100 freestyle relay, where France could challenge the Americans. The event's final is scheduled for 11:23 PM ET. Be sure to tune in. Another compelling story in the swimming event is 41 year-old Dana Torres. Torres has rocketed out of a six-year retirement, bounced back from childbirth, overcome two surgeries in the past eight months and become one of the best American female sprinters. Aside from the steroid accusations, it should be fun to watch Supermom as she battles the worlds best.

The other sport the U.S. must post strong gold medal totals in is track and field. In Olympic history, the U.S. has won 307 track and field gold medals, the most ever. The Soviet Union, who is second, has won 71. This is a sport where the U.S. typically dominates, and this year should be no exception. There are 47 track and field events and 141 total medals (gold, silver, and bronze). According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. is expected to take 11 gold medals in track and field. The U.S. will be looking to Tyson Gay in the 100m sprint. Gay, who injured his hamstring last month, will have to battle out world-record holder Usian Bolt of Jamaica. This sprint battle should be epic. Be sure to tune in (Aug. 16th, 10:30 AM ET). In the 400m, the U.S. boasts the two best runners, Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt. Wariner and Merritt each have five of year's 10 best times. Probably the most exciting event will be the men's 4X100-meter relay, where the U.S. will face off against Jamaica. Jamaican and U.S. men have run 14 of year's 15 fastest 100s. This is one of the Olympics final events, and should be one of the best (Aug. 23, 9:05 AM ET). The U.S. should also dominate in the 400-meter hurdles, 4X400-meter relay, men's shot put, and the women's 200m, 400m, and 100m hurdles. With these events holding so much bearing for how the U.S. fairs in the gold medal count, the excitement is doubled and I would recommend viewing every event you can.

There are 302 gold medals at stake and most of the experts have crunched the numbers and favor China to edge out the U.S. The Creatures respectfully disagree. Besides being Americans and thus making us automatically biased, we feel that the U.S. is too strong in the big medal sports. Swimming and track and field account for 81 of the 302 gold medals available, and China will likely to little in both of those sports. The sports that China will do well in- rowing, weightlifting, and shooting- do not carry enough weight in terms of total gold medals available. Only 44 gold medals are available in those three sports combined, almost half of what is available in the swimming and track and field events. So, yes, us Americans think America will win. But we in Creature land have also crunched the numbers. And the most important number of all is 16. 16 years ago, in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the U.S. lost the gold medal count to the Unified Team, a joint team consisting of twelve of the fifteen former Soviet republics. Since then, in the three Olympic Games that have taken place, the U.S. has not lost the gold medal count or the overall medal count. We see the U.S. making it four in a row in Beijing. We may be wrong, we may be right, but that's why they play the games.