On a sun-splashed Saturday "along Copacabana Beach, the Rio Olympics began in earnest," according to Dan Wetzel of YAHOO SPORTS. There was a "cycling event that began and ended here," with crowds "lining the streets." Beach volleyball "ran the rest of the day and night (final start time was midnight locally) producing lively, rowdy crowds." People "strolled the boardwalk of Copacabana," and they "filled the volleyball stadium and did the wave while overlooking waves" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/6). In Nashville, Joe Rexrode wrote it took "about 25 minutes of walking through a scenic and packed Olympic park" to get to his press seating for a U.S. men's basketball game. During his walk he "saw people from around the world -- and a lot of Brazilians -- having a good time and going to various events" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 8/7). However, in DC, Phillips & Partlow note compared to the frenzied crowds during World Cup matches held in Brazil in '14, the environment at the Olympic Park, and at outdoor viewing sessions, "has felt tame" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/8). The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly writes Olympic fever is "not a thing" in Rio. On Saturday, the downtown "quieted." By evening, the bars in Copacabana "were full." Not one of them had "their TVs tuned to the Games," opting instead for a Brazilian soccer match (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/8).
GET IT WHILE YOU CAN: In Indianapolis, David Woods wrote in the main park of every Olympics, there "is a superstore of merchandise -- or, in Rio, a megastore." It is a "one-stop shop." It is often so packed that fans "stand in line just to get in the store." The temporary structure "resembles a large tent." Winds were so strong that the walls and roof "flapped, creating noise that sounded like a bowling alley." People were "asked to purchase what we had collected, and leave" (INDYSTAR.com, 8/7).
STRIKE A POSE: In Charlotte, Scott Fowler wrote ROCOG "scattered several hearty versions of the Olympic rings around the Olympic Park and elsewhere." People can "climb on them or hang on them without breaking them, and most of all you can take pictures in front of them" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/7).
