That's a wrap!

The most medals won by the US in a non-boycotted Olympic year. 121 total pieces of hardware. It is good to feel like I contributed to that feat a little bit. Obviously, the athletes did all of the work and I feel kind of bad that many of them aren't treated better.

Don't get me wrong. The big name athletes (swimmers, track & field, basketball, etc) will continue to bask in the glory of their pro salaries, sponsorship contracts, and endorsements. I think, however, it might be possible for the grassroots athlete to get left in the dust!

I did not go to the Closing Ceremony last night. I found it difficult to want to travel in the crowds, deal with traffic and worry about security. I stayed in the hotel and had a nice dinner. We did lose power in the hotel for about 20 minutes. Backup generator, what backup generator. I was happy I was not in an elevator.

The games are over. We spend the next three days packing up everything we shipped here, palatalizing everything and then waiting to go home. Our flight leaves on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. from GIG to Houston. Then Houston to COS on Friday.

I hope everyone enjoyed the blog. I am 99 percent sure this will be my last blog from any Olympic Games. I've had the privilege of helping with the 2012 London Summer Games, the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, and the 2016 Rio Summer Games. My experience with "behind the scenes" at the Olympics is most probably done.

If you followed the blog thank you!

Oh, I want to share one more thing. I'm sure all of you have read about the ugly Americans (swimmers) and their debacle. I will leave their behavior and the consequences up to the USOC and USA Swimming. I do, however, want to say how proud I am of the Development back office team. We leave Rio and the people we touched with a much better feeling about Americans. I truly believe we made a difference. Also, throughout this entire experience, I used Google Translator. I walked up to every military security person I could and showed them this, "Obrigado pela seguranca. Agradecemos o servico." Translated it says, "Thank you for the security. We appreciate the service." I have to admit, I made many, many unappreciated people smile and and give me a thumbs up. That made me feel good!

Peace out Rio!

This and One More

Best sand castle I have ever seen!!

First, thank you to those of you who took the time to stay up with my rants. Admittedly, this blog took a different slant than the Sochi blog.

Things are really beginning to wind down now. We're already preparing to pack up the myriad of things we brought as we have some pretty hard deadlines for the pallets.

I'm still not sure about attending the Closing Ceremony. Unfortunately, there is a bad feeling in the air for the USA team and I am leaving this Olympics with a very bad taste in my mouth for the "entitled" "all about me" athletes. The fallout in Rio was swift. Unfortunately, our security team is now recommending that we no longer be out past midnight (like I saw midnight outside the hotel at any time) and that we be off the beaches before the sun goes down. (Yes, I did get to walk in the sand when we visited the NBC Today Show set).

I think the Brazilians will be just as happy when the Olympics are over. Just like in every other large city in the world, there are good people and there are bad people. Unfortunately, Rio got a very bad rap for a job well done. In my own little way, I also tried to express our appreciation. I've literally done this hundreds of times as we walk from hotel to hotel or to some kind of event. Each and every time I received a huge smile and a thumbs up. I really hope it made some kind of difference. There are literally thousands of police and military standing just about everywhere exhibiting a show of force. When ever possible, I would show these men (exclusively men) this on my phone: Obrigado por fazer a segurança , nós realmente apreciamos o seu trabalho duro. "Thank you for doing security, we really appreciate your hard work."

I plan to do one or two more of these posts and in case it becomes a timing issue, please understand that the month spent in Brazil was arduous and at the same time very rewarding!

Thoughts from Today

Alright everyone, here is the only bikini picture I've had time to take and this

was from the other day when we were at the Today Show taping.

I had to make a trip from one hotel to the other today and decided to walk. It's a beautiful day in Rio. The sun is out and people were simply walking up and down the Copacabana Beach. There actually was NO traffic. It's almost like a ghost town.

The feeling in the air is changing again. We're only three days away from the "end" and I can feel things kind of winding down.

I want to express something I also noticed in Sochi. I spent time today just watching people and I truly believe "we are all basically the same." Yes, there are good and bad, we all are very aware of that fact. However, I see everyone going about their business and living their lives. I have no idea what they are stressing about and they simply do not know what might be stressing me. They are working on their lives trying to keep things moving forward. I the thought extremely interesting. What I also find interesting is how it is next to impossible to tell nationality etc. until someone opens their mouth. Otherwise, we are simply all the same! Just my observation.

It seems like we're finally getting into the ebb and flow of the Games and its demands and at the same time, we're beginning to think about getting packed up and going home. We have a ton of work to do before next Thursday and we really can not get started until Monday morning.

There is a great deal of "drama" also going on between the Brazilian authorities,

athletes, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. Nothing really to publish here. Suffice to say there are ongoing dramas unfurling. I think Brazil is tired of taking the brunt of criticism in over hyped and bad media stories. Every Olympics (based on the two previous I've attended) has its problems. They are always different and they always exist.

On the home front, I miss Hillary, Amber, the kids (cats & dog) and our neighbors. Apparently Suzie got in trouble today with Hillary and got yelled at. It is hard to stay mad at that face.

The Today Show

We took our guests to the Today Show set yesterday. They tape on the beach at about 8:30 in the morning. Actually, as I'm not a Today Show groupie, that might be live in

New York. Not sure. Anyway, they are doing their taping from a stage on the very north end of Copacabana Beach (the blue dot is our hotel and the blue pin is the Today Show stage).

Apparently, Gail and I have been having breakfast in the Windsor Atlantica breakfast buffet every morning with Matt Lauer. I had absolutely no idea until yesterday. Still not a big deal but interesting at the very least.

We're beginning to "wind down" some of the functions and looking at what we can prepare to "pack out." It is amazing to note what we actually shipped down here and how handy everything becomes. We shipped everything from paperclips to Hot & Icy pads.

There are printers, hand sanitizer, decorations for the suites, removable wall hangers, maps, trash bags, cases of Rice Krispie Treats and Pringles. You name it, we probably shipped it and it all must go home. For those of you familiar with my current aversion to humus, I now also have a huge aversion to Rice Krispie Treats and Pringles.

Those of us staying until 25 July, which is the bitter end, we are attempting to arrange a private tour of Sugar Loaf Mountain. I am hopeful we can make that happen.

I made the decision not to go to the Closing Ceremony. There are many factors and primarily it is going to be a very, very long night; transportation is sketchy at the very best and the stadium is just not in the best part of Rio. Putting all those factors together, I think I'll just stay in the hotel with a couple of adult beverages and get a good night's rest.

I hope you enjoy these little blogs. For many reasons this Olympics is significantly different than the other two I attended. I am also ninety nine percent sure this will be my last. I think Rio presented itself well (up until now). For the most part the people are friendly, the venues nice and the food good (except for that bout with Montezuma at our previous hotel). Traffic is the biggest problem! It is horrendous on a good day and there just is no plan to handle it properly.

By the way, I'm still looking to see my first mosquito! 

IT WAS AWESOME!

Yesterday was the first day an opportunity presented itself for me to see an actual Olympic event. This will seem like a long an convoluted story so just hang in there.

My niece (on Hillary's side of the family) is in a long and serious relationship with a tennis coach named Adam. Brenna and Adam have been together for a very long time.

It just so happens that the person Adam coaches, and has coached for a very long time, is Bethanie Mattek-Sands. For those of you who do not follow the Olympics or Tennis, Bethanie competed in mixed doubles (her partner was Jack Sock) and they competed against Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram for the Olympic Gold Medal. Venus was the odds on favorite to win that competiton.

I had the privilege and was lucky enough to be able to get a ticket to this event and I was also lucky enough to see Bethanie and Jack beat the favorites and win the Gold Medal. I truly can not tell you how special that moment was! I felt like I was kind of representing our family in supporting Bethanie and Jack.

While I did not get to actually speak with Bethanie's husband Justin, I was able to text with him a couple of times and that was special too!

It is hard to explain just how special of a moment

that was and I truly do appreciate that opportunity. It made my Olympic experience in Rio complete.  I do not have to see or do another thing until I go home. That is how special the day turned out.

Privileged!

In the world of "development" and the Olympics, yesterday was a big day. Let me try to explain. The development/hospitality team is big. We have 23 people running four separate programs across the entire Rio area. To accommodate that number of team members (not to mention the rest of the USOC contingent and all of the other National Operating Committees (NOCS)) eight of our staff had to be housed in a kind of questionable hotel.

Please do not get me wrong, it was clean, however, it was small and the location was questionable at the very least. What is it I'm trying to say? It's all about location, location, location!

We were all lucky enough to move to new hotels yesterday morning. It is a relief. I should caveat this by mentioning we could have made it at our other lodging facility with no problem however, this opportunity presented itself.

I mentioned privileged in the blog title because I constantly remind myself about some of the other staff in Rio who literally live in "gang" barracks, and share bathrooms. I am very lucky to be in this position.

For those of you following the blog, I was happy to learn yesterday that Gail and I will (should) be able to attend the Closing Ceremony. I also still hope to get out the Olympic Park at least once.

USA House is very busy. Here is a picture of the front. Please note the subdued colors etc. My guess; the color scheme is a compromise with our security team.

Grueling & boring ...

Good morning from Rio. You've seen the glamour on television. Here's the behind the scenes look. We basically sit in an office with no windows from 6 a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m. (although it's been a little earlier the last couple of nights), working logistics.

To date, I have had the opportunity to attend exactly no events. Do not misunderstand, that is not a complaint. This is my third Olympics and I go into this work fully understanding the expectations and requirements. I just think it might be important to let people know about the behind the scenes hours. Most of the planning for the next day, while outlined months in advance, actually happens in the very late hours the night before. To steal and mess up a well known phrase, "The best plans basically explode when the actual action begins" and that is true at the Olympics and definitely true here in Rio.

Here is a picture from yesterday as I transitioned from USA House back to the hotel office. Weather this morning is rainy.

I find it hard to believe it is August 12th already. I hope the remaining 13 days go just as fast. Closing ceremony is in nine days. I do hope to attend the ceremony.

As with any large group working closely in a stressful environment some of the "ends" are beginning to frazzle. Now is the most important time for the team as everyone is tired and there is a new group of hospitality guests with new demands.

I do hope to be able to provide some insight from one of the venues soon. Truly though, traffic is horrendous, the lines are long and getting through "mag & bag" is a nightmare.

Oh, there is some additional news. Those of us staying the hotel we now affectionately call "hooker heaven" are moving today to different hotels. Both of the new hotels are very nice and very convenient to the programs. That is exciting. I am moving to the hotel pictured in one of my earlier blogs.

Here's today's message for our U.S. media, "STILL WAITING TO SEE MY FIRST MOSQUITO!"