Day 1 (Fri 7/22): Bitter-sweet?

I woke up bright and early to finish the last few things I needed to do before heading to Houston, TX (which would be my home for the next 12 days) and then on to Rio for the Olympics! I was beyond excited: I was excited to support Team USA, to be a part of the Olympic Movement, to go to the Olympics and experience all it has to offer, and yes, just to switch things up from my normal day-to-day life (which shouldn’t factor into my excitement, but I won’t lie, it did). But, I also had a nostalgic feeling of leaving. Of missing Tony, friends, and of missing my Summer in Denver. I would essentially be gone for 2 months, minus a short 5-day period back at home in the middle of Olympics and Paralympics (which won’t even include a full weekend). And, I would be working every single day. My summer felt like it was over. A bittersweet feeling of leaving and going.

 Why Houston for 12 days? Every athlete (mostly, except for swimming and soccer and a couple others) is required to go through Houston prior to heading on to Rio for “Team Processing.” This is where they get all their gear that the USOC gives them to bring along with them. And, where they have to go through a program called the “Team USA Ambassador Program” (TUAP). The mission of the program is to prepare athletes for Rio and the Games, and inspire them with stories from past notable Olympians, or Ambassadors. The Ambassadors speak about what they learned from the Games, not letting distractions affect them from their performance, hurdles they’ve overcome, building their brand, and creating a lasting legacy. The preparation piece: overview of the Olympics, overview of Rio, training and competition venues, a quick Portuguese lesson, media information and preparation, and my piece: explaining all the rules they have to follow that the IOC puts in place, aka probably the least exciting part of the presentation, but I guess necessary.

 When I got to Houston in the evening, and after a ride arranged for me in the Team USA bus, and after putting my luggage down in my hotel room (aka home), I immediately went to tour the convention center (connected by a sky bridge) where my new office would be, and where the entire set-up of Team Processing was located. This isn’t just a normal convention center. Here are the stats to give you a little picture of it: 1.9 million square feet with 88 meeting rooms, 6 balconies, a ballroom, theater, show offices & conference rooms plus 90,000 ft² of Level 2 Mezzanine space, a 95,000 ft² grand concourse, the 97,000 ft² Avenida Plaza, and The Wharf, an intimate outdoor special event space.

 Our space itself is about 20,000 square feet. And, it is beyond a set-up! Wow. Incredible. Our “office” is just tables in a room. But, the other space for the athletes have been transformed into “shops” for the athletes to get all their gear. Nike went above and beyond with their set-up store (of course, everything is free), and even hired 40 of their own staff to act as personal assistants to each athlete trying on clothes. There’s even a hangout room in their area. When you exit Nike arrows head you to the Ralph Lauren “store.” I guess there was tension between Nike and Ralph Lauren on who was doing a better set up. Nike won. However, the elegant class and attention to detail of Ralph Lauren is un-paralleled. They hired on 20+ tailors on-site to tailor all the opening and clothing uniforms immediately so they would fit each athlete perfectly. We also got a sneak peak at the opening ceremony uniforms (pictures not allowed), since it hasn’t been released to the public yet. Going on the “maze” to the other set-ups: Oakley, P&G, and Oakley were all impressive pop-ups. Information booths were set up in another room, such as the CDC (Zika questions), LA 2024 (for the next US Olympic Bid), and USADA. Athletes would leave with two huge duffel roller bags full of new gear! That they would put in our “luggage” center, where United airlines representatives were onsite to check these in already (true). And they could also ship other things home in our UPS shipping center. Wow.

I realized that night: my summer isn’t over. Yes, I still won’t get to be with Tony, with my friends, go to concerts, go hike 14ers, play yard games, have happy hours on rooftop bars, bike around, lay out at pools, or anything else a normal summer has to offer. But, I will be supporting Team USA and going to the Olympics! And Tony will still be with me, on the phone and in my heart. In the future, when I look back on life, I guarantee that I will remember this experience more than any happy hour. How many can say that they got to go to the Olympics for work?! And work as an attorney nonetheless (attorneys normally don’t get to do cool things like this). And, in Brazil where I’ll be staying in Copacabana, going to training venues, up to the Village, and hopefully a couple events (when time permits, that is). I know I will get tired and be worn down, and days where I can’t wait to leave, but I am so appreciative of the opportunity I have in front of me. To remember forever.