Not since the 1992 Olympics have I personally followed the games with much scrutiny. Several factors contributed to an uninteresting 2004 Olympics including an unexciting USA Men’s basketball roster being among those. Well, the 2008 Olympics have “redeemed” anything that happened in Athens and basketball has actually been far down the list of redeeming factors. For something so grandiose I could never do it justice with just one posting so I offer for your approval my first in a series of three reviews of the Games we know and love as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

How better to begin a recap than beginning with the Opening Ceremony? I know some folks weren’t fans but I thought it was SPECTACULAR! All commendations go to the Chinese for organizing such a visually appealing show. Obviously, a lot of hard work, practice, and dedication went into the production of such a grand performance. I thought the drummers, with their excellent precision, were off the chain. My wife nearly had a conniption because she has a phobia of too many things moving simultaneously. I guess anything involving China shouldn’t be part of her daily dose of television.

The other thing that struck awe for me during the intro ceremony were the moving Chinese printing blocks. The blocks represented China’s legacy as the first country to use paper or to print words. Again, the synchrony and precision involved with performing inside of something so large certainly took hundreds of hours to prepare.

Moving on to the beginning of the actual games, there were several benchmark moments that kicked off these games. Several performances come to mind such as Nastia Liukin, the flop of the US Boxing team, and Mr. Indelible himself; Michael Phelps. His performance during the Beijing Olympics has been so well-documented his surname has been made an adjective; Phelps-ian. Still, even Michael Phelps would admit that he wouldn’t have been able to achieve his, um, Phelpsian feat without the contributions of teammates like Cullen Jones. Cullen was born in Bronx, New York and grew up in New Jersey having once almost drowned at an early age. Jones was able to take that experience and turn it into a strength as now he’s the first African-American to share a world record in swimming and only the THIRD African-American to ever make the US Swimming Team. His story is reminiscent of Shani Davis during the Winter Olympics a couple of years ago. I just wish we could have seen more of Cullen in other competitions. A million congratulations go to both Cullen and Shani as they tear away at preconceived notions of what a Black athlete should be.

Check back for the Part II portion of my Olympics recap as I dive into the Jamaican assault on track sprint competitions, Keeth Smart, and how NBC’s camera crews can’t discern Dateline investigative work from giving Lola Jones her space after a heartbreaking loss. Until then, enjoy this video from Cullen Jones on his victory.