Seven years ago, a nation named China erupted into joyous celebration when it was announced that Beijing would be the city hosting the Olympics in 2008. To this day, the image of Samaranch announcing the victorious bid of Beijing is still iconic and fresh in people’s mind.
I was still on that other side of the globe when that happened. It was sort of a blurry memory for me, but one thing I remembered clearly was the mood of the nation. Everyone was [i]happy[/i], everyone was proud. There was a distinct feeling in the air that China, a country that suffered so much in the past, was beginning to step into the international map.
Of course, billboards, advertisements, and propaganda banners began to appear. Various products began printing logos relating to the Olympics. I remember wishing that 2008 would arrive soon, in my young mind, seven years seems like a long time.
Fast forward to the summer of 2004 when the Athens Olympics were happening. My parents and I were sitting on our couch watching the 110 meters hurdles final. Another moment that shaped what’s to come in 2008 happened in the most surprising way. And this time, I remembered it extremely clearly (must be because I was older).
We noticed that there was actually a Chinese athlete in the final race. We looked at each other, and I remembered one of us saying “well, if he can get a bronze metal, that would be awesome.” Of course, there was no hope whatsoever in that happening, because historically Chinese has no place on the racing track.
As the competition started, we noticed the Chinese athlete was beginning to come to the front. Our jaws dropped lower and lower as he was dashing to the finish line, and froze in surprise when we realized that he just won the gold metal. Then we cheered.
That was one of those "where were you when _______ happened?" moments, yes it was.
The next day, all the Chinese newspaper had the front page news of “Chinese Athlete Liu Xiang Won Gold in Hurdles”. Now all the Chinese are hoping for the same headline this year. It is said that Liu Xiang is bearing the hope of gold of 1.3 billion Chinese, and it’s no melodramatic statement. To be honest, I’m not over confident that he will win gold, I would certainly collapse from nervousness if I were Liu Xiang.
For the past few months, the advertisement for the games were virtually nonstop on Chinese television, and everything was tied to this big game. At one point I just threw up my hands and declared that I just wanted the games to start already. Believe, watching the same ad on television twenty times a day will drive you insane.
But now, the games have started, and everything that China worked for, everything that the Chinese are waiting for, everything that meant so much to us are happening. As my cousin said, everyone’s happy because “we’ve finally arrived at this moment”.
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