WHY WE CANNOT SLEEP

There is a central dilemma we all face when working at the Olympics - to sleep or to experience?  Sometimes you have to sleep.  Two days ago, after working an 18 hour day, and arriving back in my room at 4AM, I slept until it was time to head back to the International Broadcast Center.   While I felt relatively rested, I also failed to see anything outside my hotel, the bus, or the IBC.   The small core of us that sees each other only at the Games, and has a very special friendship:  "We can sleep in September." (I know, I know, the semester starts in September, so I won't be sleeping then, either).  But the gist of it is that the Olympics are a unique experience, and we have unique access to it.  So what does that mean?  It means you sleep a few hours, and then get up and go to the women's road race.  It means you rush to work, drop off your stuff, and head out to the Aquatic Center to see Natalie Coughlin dominate in swimming heats, the Indoor Hall to see Paul Hamm and Carla Patterson excel in gymnastics, or the tennis center to see Martina Navratilova make her Olympic debut at the age of 47 (and no, she's not the oldest to do so -- trust me, the question has been posed by many).  So it's a tough call.  But with athletes like these, who can sleep? stars of Sydney 2000 against one who looks to be one of the stars of Athens 2004. So let's all look forward to Monday, August 16th, when some serious waves should be made.