2002: part 6

Tuesday was Sara's day off, which turned out to be crazy. Monday night there was a huge controversy in Pairs Figure Skating when the Canadian pair who were pretty much flawless, were denied the Gold, in favor of the Russian Pair who had errors. There was discussion about judges being influenced, investigations being launched, etc. After our 10:00 SLOC briefing, I learned from the COA that I had 15 minutes to put on a press conference for them. It was quite amazing though, how fast the media was in that room. Talk about swarming! The mood was tense, and our volunteers had to struggle to keep their wits. But we made it through. Then I got a phone call from the International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body for figure skating, wanting to schedule a press conference. They told me I had to keep my mouth shut about it, so when the COA started calling every 10 minutes (which they did) I would know not to say anything.

Since Wednesday was my scheduled day off, I tried to explain to Sara that maybe it wasn't going to be the best day for me not to be there. Having not been here, she didn't quite understand the magnitude, and insisted that I take a day. I was getting to `goofy' point anyway, but I knew things would be crazy.

They were. I spent Wednesday sleeping in, and visiting some friends, and watched some of the craziness on TV. I heard from Sara a few times, but they managed to pull it off, with the help of extra volunteers, and staff pitching in.

Thursday was of course, Valentine's Day…. We started with the SLOC Press Conference, which consisted of the Venue City Mayors. So Rocky Anderson was in-house, along with some other Mayors. The ironic thing is that the USOC was having a Men's Hockey Press Conference next door, in the smaller room, simultaneously, which was packed. The SLOC briefing was pretty empty. I guess it just goes to show that two hockey players are better than eight Mayors.

Following those two Press Conferences, we had the women's US bobsled team in—including the popular Jean Racine. All went smoothly, though there were a lot more `one-on-one' requests from broadcasters than there have been for most other athletes.

We started hearing the buzz early afternoon that President Hinckley and the Quorum of the 12 were going to be touring the building, and were scheduled to come at the same time as my Swiss Olympic Committee Press Conference with 2-Time Gold Medalist Simon Amman. That was actually a fun press conference. It was conducted primarily in German, so I used the headset to listen to the simultaneous interpretation. It is often difficult for me to concentrate on what is being said in any given press conference because I am so focused on where the volunteers are stationed, and whether or not the water on the dais has contraband labels on it, or how the sound is, or any number of other things, but when I listen to the translation it is a lot easier for me to focus on the content.

The Simon Amman Press Conference was probably the most fun yet, partly because of the translation, and partly because he was so adorable. He is this tiny little kid who looks like the fictional Harry Potter, and was even asked about his resemblance to the character, and his reaction to those type of comments. His response was that he did see the resemblance, but that there was no magic involved in his medal winning ski jumps. He was also asked a question about whether or not he had received very many Valentines, since in Germany, the ski jumpers were considered among the most eligible bachelors. He simply said that he hadn't had much time to focus on Valentines, but that he wasn't free anyway. One other amusing question came from a reporter asking about whether or not he had watched other ski jumpers as a boy. The entertaining part, was perhaps only entertaining to me, however, since he is still in high school, I though, `When he was a boy? What was that, last year?'

Anyway, the press conference went well, despite some challenges with a pin-crazy volunteer, and I was fortunate enough, afterwards, to see President Hinckley and the Quorum walking down my hallway. It was pretty incredible actually—volunteers were lining the hallways. They were all respectful, and just in awe at the opportunity to be that close to greatness.

Beth told a story about passing a volunteer who grabbed her and told her that she had just made her life. So on the way back the happened to pass the same volunteer, so Beth led President Hinckley over to her and said "President Hinckley, I want you to meet our best volunteer." The woman started crying, and was obviously touched, as were we upon hearing the story.

The Canadians scheduled a 9:30pm Press Conference, which was kind of a downer on everyone's evening, but at Staff Meeting, when we asked for volunteer help, there was an outpouring. I am continually amazed at what a team environment this is, and how everyone is willing to pitch in to get the job done. It is truly incredible.

The IOC/SLOC briefing went well. The IOC Director General, Francois Carrard fielded a multitude of question about the Pairs Figure Skaters, Pelletier, and Sale, and allegations about the French judge. It made for an interesting one, but things have been very interesting around here the last couple of days anyway.

After the IOC Briefing, ONS (Olympic News Service) started panicking because they were receiving angry calls from Press who were at SLIC (Salt Lake Ice Center) covering Men's Figure Skating, and could not cover the COA (Canadian Olympic Association) Press Conference. And shortly after that, the COA cancelled their briefing. Almost everyone was pleased--however, our sound guys had hockey tickets for the evening that they had already given away. They were understandably upset.


This morning in staff meeting, as soon as I had finished telling everyone what an easy day it was going to be, Bruce came in to tell Mark and I that the IOC/ISU had scheduled an emergency press conference at 11:00a. That sent everyone spinning. We weren't supposed to publicly announce anything until after 10:00am, but the call for volunteers went out and was answered.

I talked to the Japanese Olympic Committee to `ask' them to move their 9:30am press conference into Interview Room C (from B) so that we could turn over A & B and combine them. They said '`no'', so that is when I informed them that it wasn't an option, that it was at the IOC's request, and if they had problems with it, they could call them. I was a little more tactful about it, but I got the point across. Shortly after, the JOC contact arrived to tell me that they would be willing to make the switch. Very generous of her, I know….

So we moved them into C, and began the turnover, which had to be completed by 10:00am for the SLOC Press Briefing. The Salt Palace staff did a phenomenal job, and all was done in plenty of time. Volunteers started arriving, and as the SLOC briefing progressed, I handed out assignments, explained responsibilities and waited for the onslaught.

When things got started, it was a madhouse—in the sense of the numbers in the room at least. We probably had 500 reporters and broadcasters in there. NBC, CBC, BBC, and every other `C' you can imagine, were going LIVE with the press conference, which added an increased level of pressure. However, it was smooth as butta'. I heard afterward that CNN made an on-air comment about how it was crazier than a White House press briefing, and much better run. They said you would never know the mic-rovers were volunteers--that they handled themselves like pros. It actually kind of gives me goosebumps. Such specific compliments from people who would know, mean a great deal, and the fact that it was on-air, made it even more incredible.

The major announcement was that Sale and Pelletier would be awarded gold medals as well. The Russians will keep theirs, and there is no `silver medal'. In addition, they announced that the French judge in question has been suspended indefinitely.

Halfway into the briefing, we learned that the COA wanted to do their own at 12:00p, which meant ½ hour later. The briefing was to include the athletes, and content to focus on their reaction to being awarded the gold.

They were even cuter in person than they are on TV. One reporter asked if they would have to return the silver medals, and Pelletier responded that he was actually hoping for a bronze to complete the set. At another time, the moderator asked a reporter to stand while stating his question…His response: "I am standing." It drew a huge laugh from the group, but he was in fact, already standing.

Anyway, things went well, and we have received a great deal of positive attention for our humble little press room. It has been on nearly every channel, and you may have even seen me a few times on the NBC's.

In addition to those I've mentioned, I've also had the chance to interact with people like Desmond Tutu, Michelle Kwan, Scott Hamilton, John Williams, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Prince Albert of Monaco, Todd Eldredge, Picabo Street, Shannon Bahrke, Eric Bergoust, and others. But I've also had the chance to work with perhaps the highest caliber of people I have ever known. Only nine days left of the games, and I am already starting to go through Olympic withdrawal. I'm selfish, I want this to continue on indefinitely. However, since that is not possible, I'm thinking I might apply to the USOC, ATHOC (Athens Organizing Committee), and TOROC (Torino Organizing Committee). I'm hooked on the Olympics--but I will eventually enjoy sleeping again.