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!"

Missed a couple of days!

Maybe you noticed I missed a couple of days. On Monday, we had the opportunity to visit what I affectionately refer to as GJ (Giant Jesus) or as it is referred to here in Rio (and the rest of the world), Christ the Redeemer. We took their cog railway (striking similar to the cog railway in Colorado Springs - see below) to the top and spent some time in the clouds.

Immediately after that trip, I started feeling terrible and on Tuesday morning, visited the USOC's team doctor. Well ... it seems I developed a case of bronchial pneumonia. I'd like to attribute it to the grueling hours, lack of sleep, and food (see Montezuma), however, I really think it was from the air conditioner in my 1.5 star hotel. Probably black mold in the system to boot. Anyway, drugs and decongestants later, I seem to be on the mend and back to the work at hand. 

Rio seems to have settled into the "host" mode for the Olympics. People continue to go about their daily grind mostly oblivious to the thousands of VIP vehicles, hundreds upon hundreds of buses and myriad of taxis. BTW, the taxis' seem like bees trying to find their hive.

Looks like the Cog Railway in COS

Traffic is horrendous and that is NOT too strong of a word to use. It literally takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to go a distance that normally takes 45 minutes. There is nothing but stop and go traffic. In fact, in most cases (unless it is a very long distance) it is faster to simply walk. Usually (at least at the two other games I've attended) there are "Olympic Lanes." These lanes are designated as such for the length of the Games and are restricted to vehicles with proper identification. The lanes are very helpful for moving traffic. No such animal here in Rio. The roads are narrow and normally crowded so there really is no room for these lanes ... and none exist.

I hope those of you reading are enjoying. As they say in Rio ... Chow! 

Not So Much Glamour!

There was a Washington Post article recently about the Olympics. It might be good to read.

To the left you see a picture of one of the hotels we use for our hospitality program. Where I stood to take this picture this morning is near the edge of "hooker" central. I swear, if these women sneeze there will be nothing left to the imagination.

I walk through this area to this hotel every morning at about 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. and I am here to tell you, business must be great!

Today we had a team head all the way out to the Rugby pitches for matches and, from what I understand, it was a 45 minute walk from where the bus dropped them off to where they needed to be for the events.

I feel some ambivalence in the atmosphere now. Of course, the TV feeds are amazing and everyone gets to see the best of the best. Unfortunately, that is not all there is to the Olympics. There are literally a ton of people doing a ton of work for these amazing athletes. In my opinion that is exactly how it should be. These amazing individuals work long and hard hours to compete on this, one of the world's largest sports stage. 

The picture on the right is a shot from my armored car today taken near

the beach and close to one of the broadcast facilities. Note the added security near the facility. It was warmer here today and the beaches seemed to fill up. I have yet had the time to actually walk on the beach and one of my goals is to get some real bikini pics. Hillary told me it was OK.

BTW, today is Hillary's birthday and once again I'm not there to celebrate with her. Last year we were both in Sturgis and in years previous I was on the road or ... maybe at Sturgis. In any case, take a minute to tell her Happy Birthday. I am very proud of how she's handled the last year.

This Olympics is different. I am beginning to believe I may not have the same opportunities as past Olympics. This will be my last. The hours are grueling! More when I get a chance.Thanks for reading.

  

Opening Ceremony and ... disappointment

Friends ... today's the day. The Opening Ceremony for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio! On my bucket list was the opportunity to attend this ceremony. That would make an opening and closing ceremony for the summer and winter Olympics. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen!

Here, however, is a picture of my Opening Ceremony ticket. I actually think the event is going to be ... how do you say it? A goat rope! For security reasons, the

Brazilians are not allowing any large vehicles close to the stadium. Even those with "Vehicle Access Passes" (VAPS) are not getting close. That means a pretty significant walk through a less than "safe" area. Get separated and there may be some issues.

Besides, there was not enough room on the bus! So ... don't look for me on TV, I'll be in the hospitality suite watching it on TV too!

By the way ... I'm still looking for my first Tiny Bikini!

________________________

For those of you learning Portuguese here you go!

Amigos ... hoje é o dia . A Cerimônia de Abertura dos Jogos Olímpicos de 2016 no Rio! Na minha lista era a oportunidade de assistir a esta cerimónia . Isso faria uma abertura e encerramento dos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão e de Inverno . Infelizmente, isso não vai acontecer ! Aqui, no entanto , é uma imagem de meu bilhete Cerimônia de Abertura. Eu realmente acho que o evento vai ser ... como você dizê-lo? Uma corda de cabra ! Por razões de segurança , os brasileiros não estão permitindo que qualquer grandes veículos perto do estádio . Mesmo aqueles com "Acesso veículo passa " ( VAPS ) não estão chegando perto. Isso significa que uma caminhada bastante significativo através de uma área de menos de "seguro" . Obter separados e pode haver alguns problemas . Além disso, não havia espaço suficiente no ônibus ! Então ... não olhe para mim na TV , eu vou estar na sala de hospitalidade assistindo na TV também!

Late Night

The sense of tension seems to be changing. The bulk of our guest arrive tomorrow so the "work to make things great" front of house is frantic. It's almost like being at Disney World; front of house and back of house. We, the development team, have four operating locations throughout Rio and it is proving to be logistically, very challenging.

Not much new today although many of the U.S. contingent are beginning to notice fraudulent charge attempts against their per diem cards. I find that of interest because they have to bring the charge "scanner" to your table etc. when using the card.

It's 22:30ish here and we're in for a very long evening. Allocating millions of dollars worth of tickets is a long process.

Today Is All About Hubris

Today the word of the day is hubris. Some of you may have heard me use this term before and it's usually not in a good way. Officially, yesterday was my first complete week in Rio and I was feeling so confident! I've mastered the walk from the hotel to the program hotels, I've mastered the Brazilian phone system, what the heck, I even thought I'd mastered the food.

Nope! After a meal in my hotel last night Montezuma found me in the hotel room about 1:30 in the morning and to say it was ugly is a definite understatement. I did make it to work on time and ... it was very, very close. Luckily one of my teammates came packed to the gills with medicine. The Imodium helped.

We're just about ready for guests to arrive and while there was a lot of work to start we seem to have hit a pace and significant work is getting done. I got a chance to go to the top of one of our hotels tonight.

10 Straight Days

Don't get me wrong, this is not me complaining and ... 10 straight days of the grind is beginning to take a toll and we haven't even hit the Opening Ceremony yet. 

Security is getting much tighter although it is interesting that the hotels do not look in our backpacks even though, generally, the backpacks set off the portal alarm. The hotels have put up stanchions around their entrances. I know right ... not sure the stanchions are going to stop some dedicated idiot!

I'm sitting in one of our "offices" and guess what, for the first time in 10 days I'm by myself. I totally think I will take a combat nap!

If you have a topic you'd like me to try to discuss (within reason) let me know. I am sorry for no pics this time. I'll make up for it with the next blog. 

Tickets, Tickets and ... Wait For It ... More Tickets

Today Is All About Tickets

We're spending the morning counting and recounting tickets for our programs. It is a tedious and very, very necessary process to make sure we have the tickets we requested as well as making sure the ticket allocations make sense for the hospitality guests.

Rio continues to ramp up security and traffic is now becoming a significant issue. I worry a little about security for major buildings etc.

Sleep continues to evade as our hotel is very noisy.

Opening Ceremony -4

Seven days and we're now only four days from the opening ceremony. Rio seems to be coming alive. I had about one hour of time to myself yesterday and was able to make a quick visit to the "Mega Store" set up on the beach. I noticed it was beginning to get crowded.

Mega Store

One of the routes we take to walk from the Windsor Atlantica to the Porto Bay Hotel (where our hospitality programs are) has also changed significantly. Each day there is more and more security and one particular area is not a very large "flea market." One minute it was clear, the next it was full of stalls selling trinkets made in China.

Finally, one knows this is the Olympics (in case you missed the signs) because of the pin trading. It's already started. This pic is a little blurry as it is not good "form" to take pictures of pin trading, however, I did notice at least five groups outside of the "Mega Store." 

Hotel - The Lap Of Luxury

Good morning. I thought I'd do a little writing about the accommodations for those of us on staff. Just in case any of you are wondering how we're spending the USOC's money.

Gail and I are staying at the Ibiza Copacabana Hotel. The hotel is located about three blocks from Copacabana and the same distance from the Beach Volleyball venue. We walk to our other venues in the mornings but, for security reasons, we are not allowed to walk back to the hotel after dark. In Brazil, this hotel is rated as a 3 1/2 star hotel. While this is not me complaining in any way, it certainly is not a 3.5 star hotel. Here are some pics of my room! There are only five hangers in the closet and no storage drawers at all.

In case you are wondering this is the entire room! Today, if we get a break, I am going to find some billiard balls and a cue stick as you can actually play pool on the mattress.

Things are beginning to really ramp up here in Rio and it's beginning to really look like an Olympic City. This is my third Games and I think this is going to be exciting.

The security presence continues to grow and even the hotels are beginning to ramp up security around their properties.

Hope everyone is enjoying and I will continue to post as everything begins to develop further.

A Little Remiss at Posting

So, we've been incredibly busy. There were nine pallets delivered yesterday. The same nine we shipped from COS. Here's the rub, our hosts will not make any deliveries until after 21:00. Needless to say, there was a lot of late night working.

My opinion ... Brazil has started working security issues early and there has been a great presence of military and federal representatives. So far this really has been a good experience.

Hotel wise, that is another subject. Unfortunately, the hotel I've been assigned to leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, here's a picture of the protective fire sprinkler system in my room. 

We did get a chance to see the Beach Volleyball venue from the Windsor Atlantica Hotel. It is pretty impressive.

We're still a week away from the opening ceremony with a ton of work to do. Finally, simply don't believe everything you hear and read in the media. As a very wise person said, "It's all problems at the Olympics until the Opening Ceremony, after that, the host country can do no wrong!" 

Hope everyone enjoys and I'll try to post more as things begin to ramp up!

J

Arrived in Rio

First impressions! I again think the media may have blown most of this out of proportion again. Rio appears ready to host this world event.

Two very large aircraft, ours and another 777 disgorged at least 400 people at one time and Brazilian Customs & Immigration did a wonderful job getting us processed.

More to follow as the opening ceremony gets closer.

Leaving Today.

 

Heading to Rio today. The Opening Ceremony is August 5th. There is a ton of work to do to be ready.

I will be attempting to do the blog and add pictures as often as I can. Please remember that these blogs are my perceptions not the official United States Olympic Committee opinions.