NOTE: If you’ve got a few spare hours, the Special Olympics are going on Right Now at CSULB, all day Saturday and Sunday. Parking and admission are both absolutely free, and the athletes (as well as the Special Olympics Southern California organization) would love to see you out there!
Before I get going with my report on the Special Olympics Southern California Opening Ceremony, a note on what the next few days of coverage are going to look like. I think that all too often, sportswriters look at the Special Olympics as a place to go and gather touching human interest stories. Local papers often don’t send sportswriters at all, but feature writers to cover the event. While it’s undeniable that many stories and athletes at the Special Olympics are inspiring and humbling, the event is more than that: it’s a competition as well, between athletes who love what they’re doing, and who are often pretty damn good at it. I know that for many athletes competing this weekend, the opportunity to cross a finish line will be reward enough, but most of the competitors I talked to don’t just want to cross it: they want to cross it ahead of everybody else. All of which is to say, expect to see some great competition (for free) on the CSULB campus over the next few days, and expect plenty of coverage here!
Friday’s opening ceremonies marked the beginning of the 39th Southern California Special Olympics, and the tenth year in a row it’s been held in Long Beach. This year, there will be competition in swimming, track and field, basketball, bocce, golf, gymnastics, and tennis, as athletes representing different SoCal cities compete for the gold. Those athletes were on hand in the ‘Myd Friday, filling it with the kind of raucous energy I can only dream of seeing at a CSULB game next season. Also in attendance were hundreds of law enforcement officers, many of whom have carried the Special Olympics torch in the last few weeks. The torch has been carried for over 1,500 miles since June 5th, and the police officers carrying it have raised nearly a million dollars this year to help benefit the Special Olympics.
The athletes processed to their seats with their delegations (named by city so there was a Long Beach delegation, a Riverside delegation, etc…), while the LAPD Band played a truly rousing rendition of the Olympic theme. The athletes moved through a corridor of police officers, who exchanged high fives and hugs with them. After all the delegations had been seated, the program got under way.
Bill Shumard, President/CEO of Special Olympics SoCal (and former AD at CSULB), pointed out that the organization had, in the last year, moved its headquarters to Long Beach. “We thank you,” he said. “We’re happy to be a part of this community that’s done so much to welcome our organization and our athletes.” Later, event co-host Ed Arnold pointed out that this wasn’t really a migration for the Special Olympics as much as it was a homecoming. It was in the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce 40 years ago that Rafer Johnson helped bring about the formation of the regional chapter of the Special Olympics, the first Special Olympics in the western U.S.
Really, the entire ceremony was impressive, from start to finish. I was blown away by the noise the athletes and their families and supporters generated; it was like being at an NFL game, instead of the acoustic-deficient Pyramid. Plus, I’m a sucker for the lighting of any Olympic flame…the best moment for me, however, was when Long Beach athlete Lauren Murakami read the Special Olympics Athlete Oath, which athletes in every sport on every level should take before competing: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
But the best moment for the athletes came later, judging by the seat-shaking noise. It wasn’t the procession or the lighting of the torch or one of the singers on hand, and it wasn’t even the UCLA Spirit Squad, who did a routine (though they were of course quite popular). The best moment for the athletes were the last words spoken that evening: “Good night, good luck, and let the games begin!”
