olympic fever...

i feel like i'm a 13 year old again.

my entire life i have always LOVED LOVED LOVED the olympics. when i was 13 it was the 1996 summer olympics. that year i fell in love with gary hall, jr. (who later turned up on the side of one my best friend's shaving cream cans and i begged him for it...he thought i was nuts). i watched him swim every single meet. one night, while watching him swim, i got so excited for his win that in the midst of jumping up and down i somehow injured my calf muscle and had to sit out of volleyball practice the next day.

this was also the summer of the best women's gymnastics team. ever. i thought amanda borden and i could best friends forever. the talent of dominique dawes and shannon miller was just amazing to watch. i wanted dominque moceanu to be my little sister (even though she's older than me..). jaycee phelps is a hoosier...how could i not love a fellow hoosier? amy chow had the nickname, "the trickster," which is just awesome... and how could anyone ever forget when kerri strug stuck that landing with a sprained ankle and then bella carried her off the mats? i still tear up when i see that olympic commercial on now with that image in it..

ok, you may think i'm being a little overdramatic. but trust me, i loved that team. just ask prettybride. one night back in college we stayed up on the phone (when we lived 2 blocks from each other) naming all the members of the team.

so you can imagine my current excitement with this years olympics starting TODAY (technically, the opening ceremonies have already occurred, but i can't wait to watch myself tonight). so i'm sure over the next couple weeks i will find new swimmers to fall in love with, perhaps even a couple of soccer boys. i will stay up late again, just like when i was 13, to catch the women's gymnastics team kick some serious butt. and i'm sure i will shed some tears because of those little clips the olympics people put together with the sappy music and the heart breaking stories.
ahhh...it's great to 13 years old again...