Olympic spirit

I'll be the first to admit that I was less than excited about some of the things that I've heard about the Beijing Olympics. After watching the opening ceremony tonight, my expectations changed.

Kudos to China for a truly spectacular opening ceremony! Watching Li Ning light the cauldron was an experience that I'll remember for a long time. Incredible vision, engineering, and just plain skills over there.

Watching China's Yao Ming carry the Chinese flag into the stadium brought tears to my eyes - not because of Yao, but because of the nine year-old boy walking beside him. Second grader Lin Hao survived the May earthquake of a 8.0 magnitude that killed 28 of 31 students in his class. After freeing himself from the rubble, he went back in to save two of his classmates. When asked why, he said that he was a leader (a hall monitor) and it was his responsibility.


Photo from http://en.beijing2008.cn/ceremonies/headlines/n214518587.shtml

Wow. And that's coming from a nine year-old. That's the Olympic spirit.

Read the story from the official Olympic web site here.