I talked briefly of flashbulb memories in this post. With the Olympics going on, and me watching as much coverage as I have time for (not a lot, but some), I'm reminded of all the Olympic flashbulb memories from recent years. I'm not a big sports fan in general, but I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics. These are the scenes I remember best.
1988 Summer Olympics: Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board. Wow. What's really amazing is that he completed his dives and won the gold medal.
1994 Winter Olympics: Tonya Harding...well, a lot of stuff, but mostly where she cried to the judges about her ice skates. This was all the more dramatic to my 12-year-old self because she is from Portland and I had actually seen her skate in person at her training rink. Oh, the drama - you've got to love the exaggerated makeup, histrionics, and hideous costume.
1996 Summer Olympics: Keri Strug's gold-medal vault on a broken (or whatever) ankle. She won the team gold for the USA against Russia. This memory is all the more vivid because I watched it with other members of my family huddled around a tiny TV at a campground at the Oregon Coast. My grandpa had somehow rigged up a satellite TV connection (?) in his trailer. I still get butterflies when I watch this clip.
2002 Winter Olympics: Russia vs. USA again, this time in a pairs figure skating scandal. The drama for us was even more intense because we were living in Moscow at the time. There are clips of all the performances in question on YouTube, but here is the medal ceremony.
What are your favorite or most-remembered Olympic moments? And do you share any of mine?
1988 Summer Olympics: Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board. Wow. What's really amazing is that he completed his dives and won the gold medal.
1994 Winter Olympics: Tonya Harding...well, a lot of stuff, but mostly where she cried to the judges about her ice skates. This was all the more dramatic to my 12-year-old self because she is from Portland and I had actually seen her skate in person at her training rink. Oh, the drama - you've got to love the exaggerated makeup, histrionics, and hideous costume.
1996 Summer Olympics: Keri Strug's gold-medal vault on a broken (or whatever) ankle. She won the team gold for the USA against Russia. This memory is all the more vivid because I watched it with other members of my family huddled around a tiny TV at a campground at the Oregon Coast. My grandpa had somehow rigged up a satellite TV connection (?) in his trailer. I still get butterflies when I watch this clip.
2002 Winter Olympics: Russia vs. USA again, this time in a pairs figure skating scandal. The drama for us was even more intense because we were living in Moscow at the time. There are clips of all the performances in question on YouTube, but here is the medal ceremony.
What are your favorite or most-remembered Olympic moments? And do you share any of mine?