The unexpected
On Saturday evening, outside a cafe on a side street running through the Vaugirard neighborhood in South Paris, a waiter struggled with his work and dropped a bottle of beer. It shattered into millions of small pieces, beer foam flowing through the cracks in the concrete. The waiter let out a hoarse "ugh" and, with heavy eyes and a forced smile, said, "I didn't expect everyone to come here."
The poor man was trying to serve the growing crowd that was filling about 20 small round tables outside Crêperie Ty Fanch. A large TV is placed facing the street to watch the men's basketball Gold Medal match between France and the United States.
At Bercy Arena, about seven miles away, the match was intense and the fans were bursting with pride for the home team. In Vaugirard, cheers could be heard from outside the crêperie, from every other brasserie and pub on the street, and from the open windows of all the apartments above. When the match ended with a 98 - 87 victory for Team USA, something wonderful happened that made even the biggest critics and pessimists smile.
Applause. From everywhere. All over the neighborhood. Applause for Team France. Clap for themselves. It was a sudden change in what we heard about the 2024 Olympics, the talk of instability, of indifference. Two days before the opening ceremony, a poll showed that only 25% of the French population was enthusiastic about the Olympics. The rest are indifferent (47%) or skeptical (25%). The same poll also found that 74% do not believe that the Olympics will improve French morale. Domestically and internationally, there are concerns.
The Olympics we need...
But then the fire broke out and the Olympics began... Every location, every day, every event. Full, lively, boisterous and proud. From the opening ceremony, the French filled the cup until it overflowed, delivering an Olympics that combined art with sport, history with the future, and the national flag flew high in a warm universal welcome. world.
For those who watched, and especially those who attended, this was the Olympics we needed. Images of the previous Olympics are still very much alive as Paris 2024 begins. The 2020 Olympics were held in 2021 because of COVID-19, and despite being broadcast worldwide, almost no one watched it live. As American rower Nick Mead said: "Part of the Olympic experience is meeting people from all over the world who are doing what you are doing, maybe in a another sport or another country".
The Olympics brought them together and introduced them all to the world.
Everything in Paris is always seen through a sad keyhole left over from Tokyo (Japan). There is a feeling, a desire, that the Olympics mean more, maybe a return to what you remember as a child. With that general mood, everything felt like a full hug.
More than in recent memory, stars, athletes have come to watch other stars, athletes. Stars love to see stars, and one of Paris's biggest rewards is being the most marketable figures of the Olympics, essentially bringing about all the good things.
Simone Biles did what she needed to do, winning 3 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal. Katie Ledecky did what she had to do, swimming in one direction while the rest tried to catch up from the opposite direction. Sha'Carri Richardson came from behind in the final leg of the 4x100m relay, turning her head 90 degrees, not to see if anyone was passing, but to admire the view. Teddy Riner, the French judo god and one of the country's most beloved athletes, won his third career Gold Medal at the age of 35, leaving some fans in tears. Not only did Novak Djokovic win his first Gold Medal in his fifth Olympic appearance, but he also climbed into a time machine to play Rafael Nadal along the way.
The list is long, but no name stands out more than Léon Marchand. The French swimmer began as a hot prospect and ended up in a tailored black suit, with the honorable task of bringing down the Olympic flame. Marchand alone won four of France's 16 gold medals.
... and search
Then all the other stories. Things that could not be planned, but instead became reality. Monet never intended to paint water lilies when he grew them.
American gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik shows what it means to be extremely good at a single sport, that spending a lifetime perfecting a skill is the ultimate dedication. . In Nedoroscik's case, it was the wooden horse. Now he is a hero.
Brazil's Rebeca Andrade won the individual Gold Medal in the floor exercise and when she reached the podium, she received a welcome from Biles and Jordan Chiles, a moment that will stand the test of time.
Mondo Duplantis, a Swedish pole vaulter, followed his Gold Medal-winning jump with a world record jump and ran quickly to kiss his girlfriend. The birth of a new sport, breaking, has attracted thousands of people queuing around the Jardin des Tuileries, next to the Musée de l'Orangerie, where Monet's water lilies cover the walls.
Yes, it's something you can't shake. And the 2024 Olympics also have issues related to banned substances, a fake gender controversy, noise around holding the competition on the Seine River, reviews that caused Chiles to be stripped of his medal, and even the The existence of COVID-19 serves as a reminder that the pandemic has never completely disappeared...
But in the end, Paris 2024 brought success on the largest scale. The Olympics are a return to what everyone is looking for: “Light.”
