Sad weekend news: Olympic diving champion Dr. Sammy Lee died in California at age 96, as reported by the LA Times.
I shared a fun, albeit brief, conversation with Lee at USA House in London during the 2012 Games. On an evening that included several Olympians visiting the house, including Shannon Miller and Prince Albert of Monaco, I spotted Lee attentively watching Olympic diving live on the monitors.
Seated on a plush couch arranged in the center of the venue's main room, Lee explained he had returned to USA House from an afternoon diving preliminary, citing he was exhausted from the commute across the pond.
I don't recall the questions posed to him -- likely centered around his coaching with Greg Louganis at Seoul 1988 (see video) -- trying to ask only during breaks in the on-screen diving action, but his response after about my third question stuck with me.
He nodded off mid-sentence.
Later in the evening, as the night's gathering was winding down and visitors made their way outdoors to await hotel transportation, Lee spotted me and apologized for dozing. We spoke about the divers on screen and that was pretty much it.
Reading the online tributes to his decades-long career, I regret not being better versed in Lee's credentials -- would like to have asked more about 1948 and 1952, coaching later athletes, his role (if any) with LA84, and his contributions to other Olympic bids, including LA2024, which Tweeted the organization's condolences on Lee's passing.
One of the Tweet responses was a follower's suggestion that an LA2024 venue bear the name "Sammy Lee Aquatics Center." I kinda like the sound of that. Photo via Olympic.org
During an impromptu 24 hours in New York last month, I enjoyed a brief opportunity to revisit the Brooklyn Museum for the first time since 1996.
The draw? In addition to longstanding curiosity about Georgia O'Keefe's 1949 canvas "Brooklyn Bridge" and other permanent collection works, I was enticed by online promotion of the current exhibition "Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to Present" organized by returning guest curator and author Gail Buckland.
Georgia O'Keeffe,
via Brooklyn Museum Shop
On site I learned that Buckland also created a beautiful new book -- in her words, via one of several email exchanges, "... not a catalogue but a self-contained trade book of the same title" -- featuring the 230 or so images credited to 170 photographers.
Both the exhibition and book include images from several A-listers not necessarily know for their still camera work, such as Andy Warhol, Stanley Kubrick and Leni Riefenstahl.
The museum displays, arranged in four galleries divided by a small exhibition-centric gift shop, are organized across eight themes like the chapters of the 300-page volume published by Knopf (with thanks to the author, a review copy arrived at my door not long after we established contact; thanks also to the museum for a review ticket).
Thomas Pelham Curtis,
via Brooklyn Museum
Looking back, it's certain I did not follow the suggested flow of the exhibition, quickly skipping to the Olympic section. It impressed me several photographs snapped at the first modern Olympiad at Athens in 1896 appear steps from images of Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
Rare images captured by members of the first Team USA, and Buckland's wall-text pointing out early cameras used at the first Games, set up a theme described later in this exhibition section: The Olympics are the place at which the latest photo technology is often introduced.
It was fun to spot Sonja Henie skating on a frozen lake in St. Moritz, stills from Riefenstahl's "Olympia" (specifically, elements of an album the filmmaker presented to Adolf Hitler), the original negative of Bob Beamon's record-breaking long jump, and an action shot captured a millisecond before Greg Louganis' head made contact with a Seoul diving board. Buckland's hand-picked images in this five-ringed section, and across most other sections of the exhibition, include more than 60 Olympians or Games-related participants.
Carl Yarbrough, via Getty Images
Most breathtaking? Carl Yarbrough's mid-crash image of an airborne Hermann Maier competing in Nagano.
Most famous: Neil Leifer's overhead and ringside images of Muhammad Ali (see below).
One of the largest images on view is from London 2012's beach volleyball venue. The photographer, Donald Miralle, lined up center court just beneath a painter at his easel on the far side of the outdoor grandstand.
By chance, in the press room following Rio 2016's beach volleyball competition, I secured a photograph of the painting by that artist, whose name is Spens. For those who look closely at the images below, some may notice the canvas has grey speck, perhaps representing Miralle in the purple field atop the media seating area (in the photograph, Spens is visible above the window at center):
Donald Miralle, via Brooklyn Museum
Spens, photographed by Wolaver
Buckland's assorted selections reminded me of familiar sports images while introducing new material. I spotted fresh-to-my-eyes photos of Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis, Jesse Owens, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Gabby Douglas and Dorothy Hamill.
Annie Leibovitz,
via ArtNet.com
Though a Leibovitz image of an Olympic and NBA star appeared (see left), I was surprised that none of the photographer's 1996 Olympic images made the cut. Readers of this blog may recall my half-day on set with Leibovitz in Colorado Springs detailed in this 2008 post.
My hunch -- that some of these sponsor-commissioned works may no longer be Leibovitz's to contribute -- was sort of affirmed in an email exchange with Buckland.
"I do know and like Annie's Atlanta Olympic photographs," wrote Buckland. "With her, there is always many to choose from but she isn't always ready to let an author pick his or her favorite. Saying that, I always loved this picture of Magic Johnson and so do the people visiting the show. I am very pleased that I had permission (with some difficulty) being allowed to reproduce it and exhibit it."
In the book I appreciated Buckland's inclusion of a "Technology Timeline by Nigel Russell" in which the history of sports photography is summarized by decade or year from the earliest image-capturing methods to digital works captured by drone-mounted lenses. Another handy appendix titled "The Beginnings of Sports Photography" takes readers from the first known sports portrait (featuring a posed tennis player) to high-speed action images as technology and the artistry of camera work advanced.
Tim Clayton, via Brooklyn Museum
The book also includes a bit more detail (building upon the wall text in the exhibition) about special approaches to sports photography, such as early underwater and other aquatic imagery.
"Who Shot Sports" remains on view at the Brooklyn Museum through January 8, and I highly recommend a trip to see the exhibition as well as checking out Buckland's book.
Book cover image provided by Brooklyn Museum. Two in-exhibition images below by Nicholas Wolaver.
Whoa -- what a week! My brain is still wrapping itself around election news, so my vote for now is to forgo a political post (notes on the president-elect and his victory coming soon).
At the end of a fun client dinner in Orlando on Thursday evening, I read the sad breaking news of Leonard Cohen -- a.k.a. the "godfather of gloom" and the "poet of pessimism" or "the prince of bummers" and composer of "music to slit your wrists to" (according to CTV's obituary) -- who died on Monday in Los Angeles.
Just last week, "Fresh Air" aired a critical review of the poet/singer/songwriter's latest release "You Want It Darker" and, man, it sounds like a Grammy contender (it is dumbfounding Cohen has all sorts of honors but does not have a single Grammy already).
The segment and dissection of some of Cohen's later life lyrics took me back to my introduction to the Canadian during the late 1990's -- at that time my Uncle Scott requested a CD copy of "The Best of Leonard Cohen" (the 1975 greatest hits compilation) and after one listen I was hooked!
Of course, hearing that CD helped me go back with a new appreciation for Cohen's "The Future" and "Waiting for the Miracle" (both aptly chosen for the soundtrack to "Natural Born Killers") and "Everybody Knows" (remade by Concrete Blonde).
When the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic opening ceremony rolled around and k.d. lang performed the heck out of "Hallelujah" there was not a dry eye in the dome, as noted in my post from just hours after the event (the previous year I also wrote about Cohen's literary work of the day). Here's the live Olympic broadcast:
In general, "favorites" are something to avoid, but one of Cohen's songs that made a great impression was "In My Secret Life," discovered in the music collection of my 2010 Winter Olympic apartment landlord (only a few days after the Opening Ceremony performance).
I smile when I'm angry, I cheat and I lie. I do what I have to do to get by. But I know what is wrong, and I know what is right. And I'd die for the truth In My Secret Life.
The simple guitar and storytelling in Cohen's cover of "The Partisan" also stuck with me.
But the Leonard tune that makes me most misty-eyed is "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" -- one of several songs used to describe the better parts of a 13-year long-distance relationship.
Last year, there was an opportunity to experience Leonard Cohen live in concert on his visit to Atlanta. Sadly, it was an event I chose to skip at the last minute, thinking "maybe next time he's in town." The new album release gave me hope that opportunity may come in 2017. Oh, well.
Borrowing from another of his works, "So Long, Marianne" (about which Cohen and his muse shared a remarkable correspondence, according to the Associated Press -- see last few paragraphs of this report), "You left when I told you I was curious. Did I ever say that I was brave? So long, [Leonard]. It's time that we began, to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again."
Photos from various Leonard Cohen fan sites that did not provide attribution to original source material.
Four years ago, on the approach to election eve, I made time to write about Mitt Romney's Olympic feats and political record that was not right, and too right, for me.
This year, this "rock the ballot" post comes from a first-time early voter, eager to explain more than 24 years of #ImWithHer support for Hillary Clinton.
Somewhere along the way, maybe in the late 1990's, someone (perhaps a character in a film, or a political science professor or friend) suggested folks "should never vote for someone they have not met." This struck me for options are generally very limited for plain folks to shake hands with every candidate, especially at The White House level.
Good timing and good fortune afforded me not one by three personal interactions with Candidate Clinton, starting on October 30, 1992, when the future first lady Hillary stopped by my alma matter Mankato State University with Minnesota-born former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Several thousand fellow students and I listened with interest to Mrs. Clinton in a gymnasium.
As inspiring and forward-thinking as she projected to the crowd, my vote went to Ross Perot in what was my first election experience.
During Hillary's remarks, my friends Susan Sorenson and Heather White joined me in making our way to the stage, where we attempted a film "selfie" decades before pointing a camera at one's self earned that nickname.
If memory serves me, Susan got a high-five from Hillary while I attempted a close-up photo gone bad.
Flash forward to winter 1993. Working to make good on their healthcare reform promises, both President and Mrs. Clinton made numerous return trips to Minnesota (then a model state for their ideas), and this guy was on the healthcare beat for the MSU Reporter newspaper.
No photos this time. Instead, my Hillary interaction came in the form of chasing her motorcade all over the Twin Cities, eventually earning a handshake after her appearance on KTSP-TV (my first time donning a press pass). She answered my question about healthcare, leaving me happy and impressed with her plans.
Unfortunately, those plans did not come to pass and we had to wait two decades for healthcare reform.
Photo by Simon Bruty/Getty Images
I did not have another opportunity to speak to Mrs. Clinton for nearly 20 years, but over time, her actions started to impress me. In 1995, she was graceful as First Lady helping the bereaved at the Oklahoma City bombing memorial service.
In 1996, her motorcade passed my assigned zone at the Atlanta Olympic Village, and we saw her (on TV) in the neighboring Olympic Aquatic Center cheering on Team USA (sadly, she had more post-bombing duties in Georgia as well).
Photo by Paul J. Richards
One of the most interesting photos of Hillary was published just a few days before news about Monica Lewinsky started -- the Clintons appeared dancing in a candid beach vacation photo, and the famous "Tammy Wynette" interview of 1992 seemed like ancient history for about a week.
If folks asked me in 2000 whether the Clintons would remain married after the Gore:Bush election, my response generally was "no."
Simon & Schuster
As soon as the 1998-99 impeachment process played out, the dust settled, and Hillary announced her run for U.S. Senate, my knee-jerk reaction was that's why they're still married ... she is going to run for president someday.
Listening to her Grammy-nominated audiobook for "Living History" reinforced these notions.
Sure enough, she did. We all know how that panned out, with her eventual appointment to Secretary of State.
I financially supported Mrs. Clinton's run with a modest donation in 2008, only to feel like it jinxed her run!
Which brings me to my most recent interaction with Mrs. Clinton. As noted on this blog post from the eve of Barack Obama's first inauguration, Hillary received honors from The King Center in Atlanta, and during remarks that evening, several speakers seemed to wish for and predict a Clinton For President run in 2016.
Hearing the likes of the King Family, Ambassador Andrew Young and others praising Clinton sold me again on supporting her, and I have not looked back since. No Bernie for this guy.
The recent screening of "Michael Moore In Trumpland" only reinforced my perspective: Hillary will make a great 45th president.
Now, some may ask, what about her opponent? I indirectly met Donald Trump as well when a handful of Edelman colleagues invited me to tag along for a Trump real estate event in Atlanta during early 2007. Most of my interaction was with his very smart, friendly and business savvy daughter, Ivanka -- I dig her. Donald was not shaking hands with anyone except potential investors, however, so the closest we got was 10 feet or so, but that was enough for me to surmise what was already my POV from his early days on "The Apprentice."
To wit: He was, and remains, pompous.
That's obviously putting it lightly given the candidate's ever-growing list of crud.
The whole scene with Ivanka, Donald, colleagues and I later appeared in the then-glamorous/now-defunct Peach Magazine (that's me with Ivanka and Donald to the left).
Like the magazine, Trump Atlanta plans vaporized once autumn 2008 rolled around, and I don't think the city saw Mr. Trump again until early this year on an election stopover.
My views on innumerable issues match closely with Hillary's. I voted for her, and think you should, too.
Indulging in one Clinton political fantasy, imagine in Hillary's victory speech her announcement that after all the years of Bill's shenanigans, as part of her acceptance she's decided to announce her intention to divorce (haha -- no more worry over what title to give Bill in office).
Photos by Nicholas Wolaver except where noted; topmost image by Annie Leibovitz.
After a week of client work travel, last Friday night in Manhattan I decided to check out a new film released last Tuesday.
The title: "Michael Moore In Trumpland."
Image via Dog Eat Dog Films
The venue: IFC Center in Greenwich Village.
I first learned about Moore's latest work through the Oscar-winning filmmaker's Facebook page, a favorable criticism in The New York Times and a rave review in New Yorker magazine.
Informed by these appraisals, expectations were high but in check.
Moore is one of my all-time favorites -- it's tough to beat the documentary power of the Pets or Meat scenes in "Roger & Me" or the emotional wallop of the Flint, Mich., kindergarten shooting in "Bowling For Columbine."
One of the last films my mother and I watched together before her ALZ diagnosis was "Fahrenheit 9/11" and during a shared trip to Washington in early 2007 we both screamed/jeered in the direction of The White House, inspired by and much like the film's distraught military mother, Lila Lipscomb, who lost her son in the Iraq War.
Moore's autobiography (specifically his narration of the audiobook version) is a highlight from several road trips to and from Oklahoma. I'd be delighted if Moore would turn his documentary lens in the direction of the Olympic movement like other great (and sports-minded) documentarians Leni Riefenstahl and Bud Greenspan.
So, when the couple beside me at IFC Center mentioned they "heard Michael might actually be here" it was exciting. Would he show up?
There was barely time to build anticipation for only a minute later ... there he was! From my seventh row and center seat, I had a clear view of Moore's introduction by the theatre's manager.
Moore spoke to the audience for about 10 minutes, pausing only to make sure his mobile phone live stream to a theatre in his home state of Michigan was still on the line. The IFC manager held Moore's phone aloft while Moore described the short journey taken to complete his "Trumpland" project.
My eight minute audio recording of his remarks includes a few gems:
"By the end of Thursday, over 100 theatres in 100 cities called us wanting this film in their theatres, so we're gonna make it happen," said Moore. Here's hoping this film will be available in wide release by this coming Friday.
This enthusiastic response was the result of "a zero-inch ad" in The New York Times, indicative that only publicity and buzz is taking this film for a rocket ship ride.
"To paraphrase Barack Obama, I think one of the things that will save the cinema is if we all have more fierce sense of urgency about it," said Moore. "I really learned a lot in these two weeks about what you can do. No, you are not going to see a lot of car chases or a lot of production value, but this great art form ... especially with documentary, there is nothing wrong with being entertained and to laugh while we are learning."
Moore then explained the timing of the project.
"I did something I had not done before, which is to film myself in a one-man show I wrote. I spent time writing it much of this year."
Moore went on to explain his team secured funding then a performance venue in an Ohio town only to learn the right-minded political machine voted them out of the community. By dumb luck or divine intervention, the team eventually found a new venue in nearby Clinton County and got things moving again, eventually booking "about 750 people" for the live audience.
"Probably about a hundred, 150 of them are leaning toward Trump," said Moore. "Another couple hundred were people who were thinking of not voting or voting third party."
Additional insights are included in the brief video I captured during Moore's unscripted remarks:
But what of the film itself? Would it live up to the hype spreading online?
"Let us know what you think of the movie," wrote one of my cousins, in response to my elated Facebook posts from Moore's appearance.
Image via Dog Eat Dog Films
For this viewer and writer, "Michael Moore In Trumpland" may not be Moore's best work, or his most popular (though opening week stats indicate it's rising like a bullet in cinema stats for documentaries). But I do think it is Moore's most timely, and though its rushed assembly leaves a few rough edges, this film is a crowd pleaser bound to earn a lot of thoughtful discussion and accolades.
As noted in the aforementioned New York Times review, "Trumpland" is not so much about the real estate tycoon turned presidential candidate. Rather, the name is derived from the Ohio farmland awash in pro-Trump signage as Moore's crew arrived in The Buckeye State.
What's missing from the new film are the fun soundtrack elements, stock footage and quirky visual setups that typically bring chuckles across Moore's work. There's no cartoon describing "A Brief History of the United States."
But that's OK! Instead of these elements, Moore cleverly establishes a rapport with the Ohio audience, quickly admitting that -- in spite of several floor-to-ceiling photos of a youthful Hillary Clinton as the main stage decorations -- he is not a Hillary fan, but rather a die-hard supporter of Bernie Sanders who had to come to terms with a different candidate earning his party's nomination (like most of, say, the audience members, regardless of their party).
In place of the grin-worthy video clips, Moore sets up two big laughs by introducing the audience members sent to the segregated balcony attendees. On one half of the upper floors, Hispanics are walled in by cardboard bricks, while to their right are several Americans of Middle Eastern descent who have their own "security drone" hovering in the rafters as an eye-in-the-sky protector of all other audience members.
I don't want to spoil one of the most poignant moments of the film, so let's just say a very surprising Hillary supporter makes a cameo appearance that left my New York theatre audience, and the Ohio attendees in the film, audibly gasping (perhaps worth the entire price of admission). From here Moore goes to work building a case, much like that faux-brick wall upstairs, reasoning why more voters should give Mrs. Clinton serious consideration before Nov. 8. Moore makes this case very succinctly and without put downs nor yelling about her opponents. And his crescendo that calls out many of Hillary's worst "crimes" again and again is hysterical.
Image via Dog Eat Dog Films
Like many of Moore's other documentaries, "Trumpland" is a thinking persons' film; it's not for everyone, but like "Bowling For Columbine" or "Sicko" and "Where To Invade Next" it is perhaps intended for everyone and should be entertaining and informative for anyone with the same open mind they profess to possess.
I found myself disagreeing with Moore more often during this film than some of his previous work, but "Trumpland" earned my respect for its ability to inform without insulting its opposition. Perhaps Moore does not write as sharply as Aaron Sorkin in "The American President" or "The West Wing" but Michael does play in the same ballpark as, say, Sorkin's monologue for "Newsroom."
Should folks see "Michael Moore In Trumpland" soon, before the election? Absolutely! And I hope they savor and enjoy it, but more importantly, talk about it with friends, co-workers or anyone planning to vote.
After the film I asked the theatre manager to share Moore's publicist details, and submitted a phone interview request. No response so far, but I'm ready with a few questions should that welcome call arrive.
Photos by Nicholas Wolaver unless otherwise captioned for Dog Eat Dog Films.
As noted in my previous post, recent travels included time in D.C. for an impromptu red carpet event featuring hundreds of Team USA athletes.
The same trek to our nation's capital yielded other fun surprises, including a last-minute return visit to The White House!
My first entry to the Executive Mansion was 20 years ago, on Halloween morning 1996. After driving to Washington on Oct. 30 (following a month of house-sitting in Manhattan), I woke up at a nearby D.C. youth hostel and hiked over to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
In those days the public could still line up for free tours of the residence, and I was on site early as there were afternoon plans to also visit Monticello in Charlottesville, Va. I vividly recall entering the East Wing, spotting a Roy Lichtenstein sculpture one of the first rooms, and learning President Clinton was not home that day as he was out campaigning for reelection (the goal of my drive back to Georgia was to be home in time to vote the following Tuesday).
Though I had visited the north side of The White House (along the wrought iron fence) many times on D.C. travels since that 1996 tour, there had not been another opportunity to enter the mansion in a post-9/11 world. But the invitation to report from the Team USA Awards at Georgetown also included a credential request for the athletes' White House visit, and with nothing to lose I applied for both events.
As of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, I still had no clearance to visit The White House as an Olympic blogger.
Around midnight, however, official word arrived by email that due to rain, the event was moved indoors and space was limited -- my name did not make the cut (Bummer!).
Again with nothing to lose, I sent an overnight email asking to please be kept on the list in case other reporters did not show up.
You can imagine my surprise and delight to wake up Thursday morning to find another White House missive with "you're in" and instructions on how and when to check-in ... in about 30 minutes!
A quick shower and an Uber ride later, I approached the northwest corner of the mansion site and got buzzed in at the same security station as Charles Grodin in "Dave."
From this point, there was a bit of hurry-up-and-wait, and a few starts and stops, in advance of the welcome ceremony for Team USA. Just because reporters and photographers were "in" did not guarantee there was room for everyone in the East Room, which was already filling up with more than 500 Olympians and Paralympians, Secret Service personnel and other White House staff. Our waiting area turned out to be the Press Briefing Room in the West Wing.
For any public relations professional with a sense of history, a visit to the James Brady Press Briefing Room -- named for Ronald Reagan's press secretary to took a bullet during an assassination attempt and later lobbied for gun control standards -- is a trek to hallowed ground. I was in awe by the actual smaller-than-anticipated size of the room, which features fewer than 50 seats between the podium and a bank of network TV cameras and control panels. We patiently waited for updates on access to the main event.
With about 15 minutes to the posted start time, I decided to wait outside with a person who turned out to be a press contact for one of the national sports governing bodies. He had a text chain going with a Team USA press contact on the inside of the mansion, and we both learned the person sent to accompany him into the East Room was the woman with whom I'd corresponded overnight to beg for wait-list status.
Making good on my promise of a blog pin, his escort agreed to take me inside as well, and the three of us eventually got into the main building via the Ground Floor Corridor where I definitely saw the bust of Abraham Lincoln and possibly saw a portrait of a former first lady who may soon be the 45th president.
Up some marble stairs and a few more steps, we arrived at the East Room, packed wall-to-wall with star athletes as a massive portrait of Martha Washington smiled on the scene. I was assigned to a center, floor position in the back-of-room photo area and got acquainted with my neighbors each with cameras in hand.
The waiting game that ensued was great fun in that several dozen Olympians -- many donning their medals or new Olympic rings received the previous evening -- milled about and proved very willing to stop and chat with the reporters and photographers.
Many shared excitement from their few seconds with the president, first lady and vice president earlier that morning. Others seemed to enjoy the mini-reunion with fellow Olympians met on the Road To Rio or only the previous evening.
Everyone was smiling, and then without musical fanfare of "Hail to the Chief" or "Summon The Heroes" accompaniment, President Obama finally arrived about 20 minutes after his scheduled time.
A sea of mobile phones rose overhead as most of the Olympians snapped their own versions of the event. Trying to tune in to Obama's remarks, I also jockeyed for better photo stances until finally easing back to just take in the scene.
Obama spoke for almost 15 minutes, starting with some by-the-numbers details.
"The story of this year's Team USA is all about firsts," he said. "Our Olympians came in first so many times more than anybody else. Not to brag, but 46 golds ... made the U.S. the first country in 40 years to top the medal chart in every category. And it was a feat built one unprecedented accomplishment at a time."
The president proceeded to introduce several individual and team athletes by name, including Simone Biles, Claressa Shields, Kristen Armstrong, Simone Manuel, Kim Rhode, Allyson Felix, Katie Ledecky and Ibtihaj Muhammad.
"We had more women competing in these Games than any nation ever," said Obama. "Our women alone won more golds than most countries did. Our women's 61 medals -- most ever by any women's team -- breaking the record set by, of course, Team USA four years ago."
Obama also joked about Michael Phelps breaking a 2,000 year record set in ancient Olympia before taking a more serious tone to introduce Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos.
"Their powerful silent protest in the 1968 Games was controversial, but it woke folks up and created greater opportunity for those that followed," said the president, who also mentioned the family members of several black Olympians of 1936 who were also in attendance.
As soon as the Obamas and Joe Biden waved goodbye, the press corps attendees were ushered to the north portico steps to await Ledecky, Felix and a handful of other Olympians chosen to share notes on their experiences in The White House.
It was after the in-mansion experience that the most unexpected elements of the visit occurred. As it turned out, our media group was encouraged to stick around for the day's White House Press Briefing already in progress.
I made my way back to the James Brady Press Room and enjoyed use of one of the seats for the final 30 minutes of Q&A led by Press Secretary Josh Earnest. Fascinating!
For a peek at how one blogger handled himself during this briefing, scroll over to the 57:30 mark of this White House video (my seat was behind the woman asking the question).
One may only imagine how I might have handled things had my day on site included last week's visit by Bill Murray!
Following a troublesome mid-Games trek to the Deodoro venues in search of Olympic shooting, I was pretty much done, cooked, completely spent and downright cranky about the host city, a five-ringed first!
Years ago in Blogging 101, they taught us to avoid posting while angry or overly negative. So, I created the end-of-Games roundup of medalists and took a breather.
The good news, however, is that in spite of my frustrations the second week of the Games provided an array of exciting experiences, providing content for many future posts.
And with a month of rest and recovery under my belt (now about five weeks since the Closing Ceremony), a trio of Team USA-related events in Washington revived my enthusiasm for posting here.
With thanks to the U.S. Olympic Committee communications team for a media credential, on Wednesday evening I enjoyed collecting interviews and photos on the red carpet for the 2016 Team USA Awards presented by Dow.
Held in the historic McDonough Gymnasium at Georgetown University, the wear-your-best-suit or don-your-most-glamorous-dress event featured Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Matt Iseman of "American Ninja Warrior" as co-hosts, with more than 500 Team USA Olympians and Paralympians as VIP guests.
Just like the red carpets for the Oscars, Emmy's or Grammy Awards, reporters and photographers had their hands and heads full trying to keep up with all the A-listers making their way to the arena.
With the help of the USOC's designated handlers, I enjoyed a few minutes of conversation, photo access or pool Q&A with the following Olympians:
A special highlight of the red carpet experience was spotting Paralympic shooting athlete Tricia Downing, with whom I was a U.S. Olympic Committee intern in the summer of 1995.
At events like this, it's not too shabby catching up with journalist friends like Examiner.com's Olympic beat writer Tom Burke or USA Today's Roxanna Scott while meeting other Games-minded journalists.
Each of us had Rio tales to tell, not to mention a bit of anticipation for the following morning and Team USA's visit to The White House (for which I was biting my nails over press credential approval until the very last minute -- more about that experience in a separate post).
Check out this gallery for a broader view at the scene outside the arena.
The red carpet media opps also included conversations with living Olympic legends or family related to other legendary athletes:
Carl Lewis, who recently donated nine of his 10 Olympic medals to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture
Swimming superstar and LA2024 Olympic bid executive Janet Evans
Mexico City 1968 Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos (enshrined in the NMAAHC as a large medal stand statue)
Marlene Dortch, granddaughter of Jessie Owens and Georgetown alumnus.
I'll post videos, notes or additional images from these many conversations.
Once the busloads of athletes had all arrived to a hero's welcome that included Georgetown cheerleaders and hundreds of excited students, inside the arena the Olympians received their official Team USA rings before the live show began as cameras rolled.
Turns out the Team USA Award trophy is a three dimensional object, usually in the likeness of an Olympic torch. During the event I got a peek at Katie Ledecky's trophy as she carried it back to her seat (see photo), and post-event I found this link with brief details from the designers.
A list of the winners is available via the Team USA press release here, and fans can tune in watch the taped ceremony on NBC Sports Network on Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. ET. My favorite presenter: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Team USA Awards post-party was spectacular, and its organizers deserve gold stars or perhaps a gold pin like the ones given to athletes as their "ticket" and Olympian status for security purposes (yes, I did manage to trade a Rio blogger pin for one of the auric mementos).
With an excellent DJ setting the scene musically, I had never seen so many Olympians dressed to the nines and dancing/partying in one setting ... or ever.
Held in an elaborate meeting room overlooking the Potomac and high rise towers in Rosslyn, Va., the catering was superb and most athletes lingered until the final fleet of buses arrived to whisk them back to their hotel. And were it not for the rain drizzling on the party venue's overlook patio, the revelers may have spent more time enjoying the early autumn breezes outside.
It was fun to get acquainted with more Olympians during this laid-back event, including a follow-up conversation with 2012 silver medalist diver/medical student Abby Johnston, first met at the Team USA Media Summit earlier this year. We swapped stories of Rio pedestrian and security headaches, and also tracked down Uber options as the party was winding down.
Also enjoyed an extended conversation with Olympic diver Katrina Young, who I previously met in the rain behind the Carioca One arena just before the gold medal men's basketball game in Rio. On that day in August, we were both in search of tickets or special access, and during our post party D.C. chat she cheerfully shared how she scored court side seats while I explained the paths bloggers take to get last-minute access. Very fun to learn Young studied music at Florida State -- check out her YouTube Channel for some great performances away from the pool.
It was also a wonderful surprise to bump into Atlanta-based "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" documentary filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and her Coffee Bluff Pictures colleague Lacy Barnes to catch up on the film's journey to mainstream release, and the duo's role in a special presentation to surviving family members of the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. More on that soon.
Photos by Nicholas Wolaver except Katrina Young's Instagram photo, and the topmost ticket image cropped from the site for the artists selected to create the Team USA Awards trophy.
A public relations executive by day, small-time eBayer by night and weekends, lifetime member of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and full-time Olympic enthusiast who also looks at "BoingBoing-style" unusual news with interest. Please e-mail me at olympiada@yahoo.com or if you can't get enough try my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/people/Nicholas_Wolaver/713593008
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