LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The 2008 BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES are here!
Right now my eyes are glued to the opening ceremonies which is LIVE on the Canadian Broadcast Channel... It is an absolutely spectacular show! They've done an amazing job of capturing the brilliant Chinese culture. You'll have to see them tonight on NBC to understand what I mean. I just watched a scene with thousands of men creating formations with perfect accuracy, sync and symmetry. I was waiting for just one person to be off an inch but it was flawless! Not to mention the creativity of each act... it definitely has the WOW factor.

USA just walked in! Usually the parade of athletes is so long that I watch a few and then come back when Team USA is about to enter.... however, I'm not familiar with the Chinese alphabet so I just watched everyone... we came in about 3/4 of the way through. Ralph Lauren designed the athlete's opening ceremonies attire this year and I think they looked really classy walking into the stadium. What do you think?
I have goose bumps watching these athletes walk into the arena. I can't imagine what kind of emotions are running through them and dream that one day I will have the opportunity to find out myself. I just think that would be the most rewarding and positively overwhelming moment in any athlete's career.
My favorite part of the ceremonies is coming up in just a minute.... The lighting of the torch! I love to see who lights the flame, how it's lit and what the torch looks like. It's always such a symbolic part of the Games. This year (drum roll)........ LI NING (Gymnast winning 3 Gold Medals in LA '84 Games) was hoisted hundreds of feet to the top of the stadium. He ran the entire rim of the "nest" while past historical Olympic moments scrolled out behind him. The actual torch lighting was dramatic and explosive! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! I think this may be my favorite lighting to date!
I don't want to post a picture of the actual torch before you see it on TV so here's a little teaser :)

**All pictures are taken by Getty Images