100 days and counting ...

Last week we reached another milestone in the countdown to the Tokyo Summer Olympics, as the calendar marked 100 days until the opening ceremonies.

So, 100 days seems like a fairly long time, but in reality, it's not that far off. I am scheduled to fly out of Logan Airport in Boston in the middle of July for my two weeks-plus in Japan. The remainder of the money for my lodging is due in early June. In that regard, I've been splitting my part-time job checks between my Olympic account and my regular savings account and should have the Tokyo trip covered pretty easily and the Beijing trip also has funds already allocated.

As I've made my way around the state throughout the winter sports season and now into the spring sports season, a question I get from people who know about my planned trips is "are you still going to the Olympics?" 

I always tell people, that as far as I know, as it stands right now, the answer is yes. But, I am well aware that these things can change at the last minute. I don't anticipate the Olympics being cancelled at this point, even given the fact that the pandemic is still a thing. With all the organization and scheduling and money that has gone into these Olympics (and all Olympics), I just don't feel they can cancel them. The athletes who have worked hard for four years now with their eyes on Tokyo deserve the chance to compete and I think the IOC feels the same way.

As we know now, foreign spectators are not allowed at the Games, many media outlets are going to work the Olympics remotely, at least in part and there is still discussion ongoing as to whether there will be spectators from Japan allowed in the venues. This Olympics is going to be entirely different than my previous two Olympic experiences in many ways. First and foremost, it will be summer and sweltering hot instead of winter and a tad bid cold. As someone who prefers the cold over the heat, this part doesn't thrill me, but I also know it's something I signed up for. And the fact that media members are not going to be able to move around the city as freely as we have in the past is also a big difference. We have to file a plan for our first 14 days in the country and basically stick to it. I've drawn up a preliminary plan, but obviously that could change at any time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a pain in the ass for more than a year now. It was late March last year when the Games were postponed for a year and in the year since, while things have gotten somewhat better, there are still plenty of issues. I anticipate plenty of more updates to come in the next month or so and hopefully there will be a clearer picture by then.

But then again, who knows. I've learned not to anticipate anything over the course of the last year.

Last week, the countdown to Tokyo clock stood at 100 days.