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Serena Williams was one of several superstars who our man in Rio watched during the weekend.
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With all the attention to Rio 2016’s preparation, or lack thereof, a common question is: “How’s it going so far?” A word of advice: Carefully consider the position of the person answering the question.
On Saturday and Sunday, I pocketed my press credentials to enjoy a few events with my non-crendentialed wife. That gave me the chance to experience the Olympics through a regular fan’s eye for the first time, and it’s a very different world.
Look, the events were spectacular. In a span of 24 hours, I watched world famous athletes Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Katie Ledecky, Serena Williams, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles — not to mention Hungarian Katinka Hosszu’s remarkable world-record 400-meter individual medley performance. All these events were within a few hundred yards of each other, three miles from my bedroom.
That alone makes the Olympics worth it for a sports fan.
But boy, is it a hassle. You really have to want it. Access to Barra Olympic Park is quite a task for fans who must do without sponsor escorts or Olympics-run bus services, or preferential entry lines. You essentially have one option, Rio’s BRT express bus service and walking. A lot of walking.
Uber won’t even go near the Olympic park (the app blocks any pickup requests in the immediate vicinity), and fighting for taxis might end up bloodier than the boxing. Regular city bus routes are redesigned to steer clear of the crowds. And the pedestrian experience? How can I say this. … Imagine the most sprawling, foot traffic-unfriendly development you know in American suburbia. The Barra da Tijuca neighborhood is even more spread out, with fewer crosswalks and safe sidewalks.
Conservatively speaking it’s a 20-minute walk from the BRT station to the venues, and that’s not including a security check and two separate ticket scans (which to Rio’s credit, weren’t too bad). They take a minimal approach to way-finding signs, and only about half the Rio volunteers can speak English.
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The action was great, but concession stands ran out of food before halftime of the U.S.-China game.
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Inside the arenas, food and drink lines are a mess. A major food stand at the basketball arena ran out of all food except hot dogs by the five-minute mark of the second quarter of the U.S.-China game on Saturday. And because Brazilians have a system where you pay for your food with one worker, then take the receipt to a different person to get your items, I paid for a hamburger before being told there were none. (They were friendly about a refund, though.)
Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada said organizers brought in 20 additional food trucks into the Olympic park on Sunday and were establishing mobile stations for selling beer and water. Also, they will be giving away free water at entrances. “We’re not there yet,” Andrada said, “but we are working around the clock and significant progress is being made.”
Like I said, the sports experience themselves are the envy of the world. We might not have been happy the entire time, but we sure left happy. Just remember: A large percentage of the people who will opine on the state of the Rio Games in the coming days and weeks are wearing lanyards of privilege, one way or the other.
Be sure to ask a regular fan, too.
