John Bauernfeind, a staff writer for SportsBusiness Daily, will be filing a travel blog called “In The Crowd” from the Rio Games. The Indiana University grad is in Rio with his family on behalf of BP, a USOC sponsor.
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Watching Biles and Raisman embrace after
the all-around was an awesome moment.
Getty Images
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The Olympics are great because you can know very little about a sport — its rules, ways and intricacies — but still get behind it because it’s the Olympics.
Gymnastics — with Simone Biles and Aly Raisman winning gold and silver yesterday — is like that. I could write that their routines were flawless, and it would be true, although I don’t know a handstand from a high bar.
Emotions are easier to comprehend, in my experience, and Raisman and Biles’ embrace of one another after seeing the results was a heartfelt scene. A truly awesome moment.
This will probably start to sound redundant, but the crowd, predictably, was loud and boisterous and rockin’. This seems to be the case for most venues (although an event like golf may be another story).
One note: This could be the case with all or most international fan bodies, but in venues with Brazilian-heavy crowds, most fans don’t stand up when you want to exit your row. Keep in mind, this is during breaks in action. So if you buy more than one beer — I mean, refreshment — at a gymnastics event because it’s mid-afternoon and nobody is in line, you get nice and cozy with your row-mates. A true win-win situation.
Also, for stadium concession fans, Rio’s items fall in line with your typical ballpark food. Oh yes, we’re talking hot dogs, pizza and popcorn, and 13 real (or a little over $4) for a beer to finish it off.
