Madness In The Middle Kingdom

In July 2001 I was standing with a friend named Stan at The Office Bar in Dalian, China. We were there because there was no real other bar for foreigners to hang out in at the time but this particular night was a special one - the night it was announced the Beijing would be awarded the 2008 Olympic games. I remember we were sarcastically mocking the foregone conclusion by cheering for Istanbul and several Chinese people suggested that it was time we went home. Mockery does not go down well in the Middle Kingdom.

A group of us made the joke that perhaps we should buy tickets and then followed it up with statements like “If I’m still here in 2008 … shoot me.” Well … shoot me .. I still live there. Unfortunately I will miss almost all of the Olympics as we are in Canada for the summer. We will arrive back in Dalian on August 23rd which is the second to last day of competition.

It has been amazing to see a generation of young people grow up in China with the Olympic dream firmly rooted in their psyche. The Chinese are extremely patriotic and they do not hide their love of country for one second. The lead up to these Olympics was in feverous pitch when we left and I am saddened I will be halfway around the world when all of the hard work comes to fruition.

Of course I don’t take it as seriously as this guy

For those not already aware the reason the games are opening at 8:08 pm on 08/08/08 is that the Chinese consider 8 to be a very lucky number. The pronounciation of 8 is ba which sounds similar to the word fa which means prosperity.

Good luck China. I hope you these games are a resounding success.