Looking back on Tokyo

I promised a look back at Tokyo and after a few days at home, two early mornings of baking, three late nights of rehearsals for Laughing Stock (opening tonight) and a great in-studio interview with the Morning Buzz, it is time to look back and reflect on what was certainly a unique experience.

I am going to take the whole return trip out of the discussion here. That was a miserable experience (my suitcase arrived on Thursday) that had nothing to do with the Olympics. As highlighted in my previous post, that is all on Air Canada and can't reflect on the Tokyo experience.

All in all, this was definitely a unique situation. It started with a three-day quarantine in a tiny hotel room and ended with my first ever Olympic ceremony. In between, there were countless long bus rides, plenty of great Olympic action and plenty of heat and humidity.

In my previous Olympics, I had the chance to cover athletes that I covered while they were in high school or athletes that had other local connections. I knew going into these Summer Games that the local connections were not going to be as strong, but I wanted to at least offer up coverage of some people with relatively local connections. Diver Jessica Parratto of Dover and runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre of UNH weren't really in my coverage area, but they were New Hampshire folks. Rower Gevvie Stone had a nice connection to a camp on Newfound Lake and shared with me some great memories of her time there. Wolfeboro's Hilary Gehman shared with me what it was like to be an Olympic coach for the first time after competing herself in two previous Olympics. And, I talked to Dr. Tamara Lovelace of Alton about her first Olympics serving with the US Cycling team in Tokyo.

 Beyond that, I wanted to see a lot of things that I don't get to usually see. Things like the equestrian competition, rugby sevens, the whitewater kayaking course, the shotgun trap shooting, judo at the Nippon Budokan and gold medal games in basketball (men and women), women's beach volleyball and women's water polo, with the US winning all four of those. These were all great events to see and tons of fun to be a part of.

I got to see Katie Ledecky and Allyson Felix, legends of their sports, compete on the Olympic stage and watch dominant teams like the US men's and women's basketball and women's water polo teams continue their absolute dominance over the opposition.

With the COVID pandemic, I made the strategic choice to not go into the mixed zones this time around. Traditionally, this is where we get the athlete quotes, but it is usually an area that is compact and packed with athletes and media and I didn't feel like it was the safest space to be in, particularly for someone who had to work closely with actors in a play within days of returning to the US. Instead, I used the "flash quotes" provided by the Olympic Information System on their online portal. 

There were plenty of great moments to look back on, with one of my favorites being Parratto and her diving partner win an unexpected silver medal early on in my Olympic experience. It was cool seeing Allyson Felix win her final individual Olympic medal in her fifth Olympic Games. Seeing a local doctor spring into action when one of her cyclists goes down on the course was interesting and talking to a former Olympian about her debut as a coach was a truly intriguing conversation.

And sitting through the Closing Ceremonies, the first ceremonies that I ever got to attend in my three Olympics, was a blast, even if it was a bit warm while waiting for them to begin.

I finished up my time in Tokyo unsure if I would be applying for credentials for the next Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024. I am already approved for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, but with everything that went on, Paris was not a priority. However, as I sat and watched the video that Paris 2024 showed at the Closing Ceremonies, I started thinking that a return trip to Paris (I was there in January 2002) would be kind of cool.

I guess we'll wait and see.

This billboard in the Tokyo airport is celebrating the Beijing Winter Olympics, coming up in February.

Blame Air Canada for this one

My last blog post said that my next blog post would be a decompression upon my return, a reflection of the Tokyo Olympics.

However, the experiences of the last two days has led me to a different step, though there will still be a reflection on the Olympics in the next few days.

If you had told me that the experience of hanging around the Tokyo airport for more than four hours upon arrival, filling out paperwork and taking COVID tests, would be the worst of my traveling adventures, I would have believed you.

But, then Air Canada stepped in and made sure I had the most miserable travel days I have ever experienced. And as I write this on Tuesday afternoon on my couch, it’s still not over.

I arrived at Narita Airport three and a half hours before my scheduled flight out of Tokyo, which was slated for 5:30 p.m. on Monday. We had been advised to get their early, since it was anticipated that the airport would be busy and it was. However, because I downloaded my boarding pass before leaving the media center, I was able to bypass a few long lines and zip right through security and to the gate. Our plane arrived shortly after I did and not long before we were to board, the crew and pilots arrived. Then came the announcement that the flight was delayed for an hour. 

Since pretty much the entire Canadian Olympic team was on our flight, the flight crew and pilots were more interested in getting pictures with them then getting our plane ready, so we didn’t leave Narita until more than an hour after scheduled. To their credit, the pilots made good time and we arrived in Toronto with about an hour for me to get through US customs and to my next flight. 

Customs was quick, but the baggage wait was so long that they sent us through without our official baggage claims (which may be where the problems started). I hurried to the gate only to find, after seeing “on time” signs on all the boards leading to the gate, that the flight to Boston was delayed an hour. Then, it got moved to a different gate. And then, it got cancelled all together. Our flight, along with a couple other flights were all gathered at the Air Canada information desk, where one poor guy was trying to handle everything. To his credit, he was doing his best, but there were a lot of really unhappy people. He eventually told us that Air Canada would give us hotel vouchers (or reimburse those who just left and got their own hotel). 

However, the kicker to all this is that in order to leave the airport, we had to go through Canadian customs, because we had already passed US customs and gone on the US side of the airport. So, that was another long line where we waited and waited to clear customs none of us wanted to clear. By the time I got the shuttle to the hotel, it was just about 11 p.m.

Air Canada had rebooked me on an 8:30 a.m. flight, so I got up early and got to the airport early, knowing there’d be a lot of people trying to get through security and customs. That move paid off, since I was near the front of the line when both opened. However, Air Canada lived up to its billing as the worst airline of the week, when it delayed our flight, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. Finally, it was scheduled for a 10:45 a.m. departure, which ended up being closer to 11 a.m. and we got to Boston around noon. 

But, that wouldn’t be the end of it, as my luggage never made the trip to Boston. In it are all my clothes, my shoes and a few other things that I kind of need. I filed a baggage claim and I am hopeful that my bag is found at some point, but I’m not holding my breath. And I recommend whoever open the bag first does hold their breath, because I had a few bags of dirty laundry in there to be cleaned when I got back.

So, this wasn’t a post to reflect on Tokyo, but more to say what an awful flying experience I had the last two days. Air Canada was a complete disaster throughout Tokyo, Toronto and Boston. If there as a way to drive to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, you can bet your ass I’d be doing that, because I am completely disgusted by the air travel experience I just went through.

Closing time

My first Olympic ceremony experience was certainly interesting and was a fitting close to this long strange trip that has been the Tokyo Olympics.

All the media transportation guides advised us to arrive early, since there is a lot of journalists moving in and out of the venue as the evening moves along and in order to keep the transportation moving, they wanted traffic spread out a little bit. I got to the Olympic Stadium about 4:30 p.m., well ahead of the 8 p.m. scheduled start time. I spent a little time in the venue media center in the bowels of the stadium and then moved up to the stands.

I was glad that I made my way up to the stands early, as I was able to get a tabled tribune seat, which is a seat with a table, monitor and power outlets. Many of the people that showed up later did not have that option and sat in the regular stadium seats. 

While sitting there, I got the chance to watch as the participants went through a practice run of many parts of the closing ceremonies, including the marathon medal ceremonies. 

When the ceremonies actually started, there was plenty of pomp and circumstance, as the flags of the nations moved through the stadium and the athletes followed. The Japanese flag was raised to start everything and after that, came the medal ceremonies for the marathon men and women. There was plenty of dancing and singing and they added in video from around the Olympics as well as original dances from different areas of Japan.

There was the traditional handing over of the Olympic flag from the government of Tokyo to the mayor of Paris, as the Summer Olympics make the journey to France for 2024, 100 years after they last appeared in the French capital city. The French flag was raised and then there was a great video played from Paris 2024, including live shots from Paris as people there celebrated the return of the Olympics.

The Olympic flame was officially extinguished and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were officially brought to a close. I was able to get on a bus pretty quickly and got back to the hotel before midnight, which was truthfully, kind of a surprise. 

From there, it was time to pack this morning and get ready for the long flight home. Look for a reflection on my time here in the coming days as I decompress what has been a long process.

The Closing Ceremonies wrapped up another Olympic experience.

What I've learned

The closing ceremony is just a few hours away and I am in the basement of the Olympic Stadium, having just arrived via the media transport. They advised leaving the media center early, so I took the advice and here I sit in the venue media center.

As I prepare to leave Japan tomorrow, I thought I’d point out some of the things I’ve learned about Japan while I was here.

First, there are a lot of bikes. Everywhere you look, there are people riding bikes. Men dressed in suits and ties with their briefcase in a basket. Women in skirts and their hair up with bags in the basket. Mothers and fathers with children in seats in the back (or in some cases, the front). There are bikes everywhere and it seems it is the way to get around. From what I have come to understand, it’s hard finding parking for cars in Tokyo, and if you do find it, it’s expensive, so bikes are the way to go. There are even dedicated bike parking spots in the entrances to buildings and around the city.

The second thing may tie into the first thing a bit, as the city seems very accessible to bikers or walkers. There are a lot of walkways crossing over roads or bridges spanning rivers dedicated to just walkers or bikers. The sidewalks are divided in two, one half for people walking and one half for people riding bikes. I was able to go from the media center to the plaza across the street without worrying about a single bit of traffic, as I simply walked over the street in the walkway. The subway is also elevated, so many of those stops are served by the walkways.

Third, the people are very friendly. It seemed that every face I ran into, although they were almost all masked, were seemingly smiling and friendly. There was plenty of help finding the way to a venue, to an exit or to a bus. The many volunteers and staff along the way were ready to help and did so in as friendly a way as I could imagine. Yes, it’s true many in Japan didn’t want the Olympics here (I saw one protest, two days ago), but the people working the Olympics were more than friendly to those of us who were here to cover the Games.

Fourth, as I’ve stated before, it is hot and it is humid. The Japanese people are probably pretty used to it, as it doesn’t seem to phase them much. I was sweating more than I care to admit just walking from the bus to the hotel or from the bus to a venue. I will never take air conditioning for granted again.

And finally, I’ve learned that it would be nice to come back here someday, some day when there isn’t a global pandemic and things are a bit more relaxed.

Traffic, as viewed from one of the many walkways over the busy Tokyo streets.

The struggle is real

It’s 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Today has not been a very long day. In fact, I slept in the latest I have since I’ve been able to leave my hotel and I only covered two events today.

But I am fried. My brain is just not functioning. You know that feeling you get when you’re almost on auto-pilot and things are just floating by you. That’s me.

I have had longer days. I have had stretches of days where I’ve worked more hours and not felt this way. I think, more than anything, the tiredness is a mental fatigue more than a physical fatigue. 

I am not tired of the Olympics. However, there are things about this particular experience that I am tired of. I am tired of having to remember which day it is so I can be sure to take the COVID tests on the right days. I am tired of having to fill out a health questionnaire every morning. I am tired of making sure I have enough time to catch one bus to another bus to get to a venue. I am tired of the security checks and the temperature screenings before you go into any building. I am tired of the long walks from the bus stop to the venue entrance. I am tired of idiots asking the bus driver where he’s going when there are very obvious signs stating the destination of every single bus. I am tired of wearing the mask outside. 

I am just tired.

I have one full day left in Tokyo, plus a partial day on Monday. Tomorrow is the women’s basketball championship game and then the closing ceremonies. I also have a lot of packing to do to prepare for the trip home.

It may be the heat, which is seemingly unending. It may be the fact that this process has been in the works for more than two years. But truthfully, it’s the COVID that has made this a tiring experience. All the protocols (I know they’re necessary), all the paperwork, all the extra steps, they are all taking a bit of a toll.

So yeah, I am tired. But, soldier on I will. Tomorrow is another day.

The Tatsumi Water Polo Centre is the final venue I will see for the first time in Tokyo.

Free at last

Before we traveled to Tokyo, all journalists covering the Olympics were told we needed to download an app on our phones called OCHA. It is put out by the Japanese government and is meant to monitor our health while we are in the country. We register our temperature each day and answer a few questions about how we’re feeling.

Thursday proved to be a big day in my OCHA life, as for the first time since I arrived, it read “cleared,” meaning I had successfully maneuvered my way through 14 days of being here without getting sick and therefore, was now clear to leave the Olympic bubble without fear of being tracked down and put in jail by the authorities.

The freedom felt weird, to be honest. For two weeks, I’d been walking from my hotel to the bus, from the bus to another bus, from that bus to the venue and back, adding in the bus to the media center from time to time. Granted, it is so hot, there’s not really much desire to go anywhere beyond those locations, particularly those locations that have air conditioning.

My first jaunt outside of the Olympic bubble was a quick trip outside the media center, where I followed the stairs down into a large plaza, where there was a number of stores and restaurants. I did not venture into any of them, but I just walked around, getting a look at a part of the nearby area that I had yet to see in my two weeks here. 

COVID is still a big thing here in Tokyo and the numbers are rising, not so much amongst the Olympic family, but in the city in general, so my apprehension to go out and about a lot is justified. I am also part of a production at the Village Players Theater in Wolfeboro next weekend and me not being able to participate because of a positive test would make things difficult on everyone else in the cast and that’s the last thing I want. Me being gone for two weeks is enough of a hassle.

I have a few days left and I will probably go out and see a little bit here and there, but I don’t foresee myself climbing on a packed subway and riding about the city. In all honesty, I’d probably get lost if I tried that anyway. To date, this trip has been a success and the last thing I want to do is to mess it up in the final days.

This is the Main Press Center, as seen from outside the security perimeter for the first time.

Olympic rankings

The final weekend of my third Olympic journey is approaching, so I thought it would be a good time to tell you all how Tokyo has compared to Sochi and PyeongChang, not so much in how the US teams have done or how certain athletes are doing, but more in how it has been simply from a personal angle. I will put each experience in order, with the first being the best, the last being the worst in different categories.

 

Transportation

PyeongChang, Sochi, Tokyo

Tokyo ranks third on this list for one reason, and that is the simple distances we had to travel in order to get from one venue to another. In Russia and Korea, there were two places we could catch buses that would take us to other places. Here, there is just one place. If we are at a venue an hour from the Media Transport Mall, we have to ride back an hour, wait for the next bus and then ride to the next venue, however long that might take. Part of the original plan was for media to have public transportation cards (once we’ve been here 14 days, we get them), which would cut down on the time we spend on buses. But one transportation hub is a tough pill to swallow. PyeongChang wins this category for its very efficient system.

 

Food

PyeongChang, Tokyo, Sochi

Tokyo did a good job in incorporating food that just about everyone could eat. Even though we weren’t allowed out of the Olympic footprint, there were plenty of options. There was a restaurant that served pizza, burgers and salads, there was food court with more traditional Japanese fare in addition to a very good steak meal served on a skillet, the general store in the media facility had just about anything you could ask for, including salads, dinners, sandwiches and snacks and there were a couple of cafes that served quick meals and snacks as well. The venue media centers varied in their food offerings, but all of the venue media centers had some sort of free food for journalists, including fruit, packaged peanut butter sandwiches and water. My hotel’s breakfast was not bad, all things considered and when I didn’t have to leave the hotel by 6:30 a.m., I always found something to eat. Sochi’s one saving grace was the McDonald’s in the media center, while PyeongChang wins for its incredible media dining hall that featured just about anything you could want.

 

Lodging

Tokyo, Sochi, PyeongChang

Tokyo gets the slight edge here. The advantage of staying in existing hotels is that we get the amenities of those hotels. My hotel was not a five-star resort by any stretch of the imagination, but they served a solid breakfast (in comparison to what I heard about other hotels), I had a dedicated internet connection for just my room, they gave us a cleaning schedule so we knew when housekeeping would be in our rooms and the bed was comfortable. Sochi is second here because I had my own room and that is a plus for me. In PyeongChang, I shared an apartment (I went with the cheapest option available) and while my roommates were nice, I like having some place to myself.

 

Media Center

Sochi, Tokyo, PyeongChang

In this category, any of the three could have been first or could have been last. It’s really a toss-up. I put Sochi first because it was just a gorgeous building, built brand new and had just about everything we could need, including a gym, a post office, lots of food options and more. Tokyo and PyeongChang both put their media centers in existing facilities and they are nice and also contained everything we needed to do our jobs. I am pretty sure there are people that come to the Olympics and never leave the media center and it is possible to do your job here without leaving.

 

Press kits

PyeongChang, Tokyo, Sochi

The press kits are free “kits” handed out to media members on arrival. If you want to appeal to the media, the word “free” is just about the pinnacle of what you can do. These press kits are a backpack with stuff we can use. All three have contained the media handbook, and each one has included small tokens of the host country. PyeongChang takes the cake on the backpack alone. NorthFace was a sponsor of the Olympics that year and the media backpacks were NorthFace. This time around, our backpacks are Asics, so also solid quality. The advantage to PyeongChang is because their backpacks contain a lot of small pockets and space to store small things and the Tokyo one has just one pocket inside to store things, which isn’t ideal.

 

Wi-Fi

Tokyo, PyeongChang, Sochi

In 2014, I had a hard time connecting to the Internet while my laptop was plugged into an ethernet cord in the Sochi media center. In 2018, wireless access was prevalent just about everywhere and the experience was much better for me. In 2021, I haven’t found many places where internet is not available. All the buses we ride have free wi-fi, the media wi-fi network seems to cover the entire venue area when you’re out and about and the hotel room had dedicated wi-fi for my room. Connecting is not a problem this time around.

So, there you have it. My rankings, completely and utterly unscientific and not at all based in anything but opinion.

One drawback for Tokyo is the fact that there is just one transportation hub.

Familiar sports in a new light

One of the joys of the Olympics, as I wrote in a previous blog post, is getting to see sports that I normally wouldn't get to cover. 

One of the other cool things is seeing the sports I see on a regular basis, but executed at the absolute highest level. Nothing against any of the teams I cover, but they are not at an Olympic level and seeing them played at that level can give one much more respect almost instantly.

Earlier this morning (Wednesday) I boarded another bus at the Media Transport Mall and made my way to Oi Field Hockey Stadium for a semifinal battle between Netherlands and Great Britain. Now, I have seen more than my share of field hockey games in my more than 20 years covering high school sports around New Hampshire. And I have covered some very good field hockey teams, teams that have won state championships and/or competed for state championships on the regular.

However, the field hockey I saw this morning was certainly at another level, as it should be, given these are some of the best players in the world. Now, even after 20 years covering field hockey, I still get confused by some of the rules, and that did not change this morning, but I did notice that the whistle got blown a lot less in this game than it does in a normal high school game. The speed of the game was much quicker, with crisp passes moving the ball up and down the field very quickly

There was another very noticeable difference, so much so that I asked a young woman sitting in front of me who seemed to be with The Netherlands team. As the players prepared for a penalty corner, they all went behind the net and came back with more pads and protection on their body. The very nice young woman in front of me explained that the defenders on the corner have to put on pads and face protection before every corner and then they quickly discard it to the end line when the corner is over.

Another unique thing that happened that I did not have an answer for was at halftime, they turned the sprinklers on and soaked the field. I assumed, with the very hot temperatures (the "feels like" on my phone said 106 and that was not on the turf), it was a method used to cool the field, but Plymouth field hockey coach Ashley Laufenberg shared a piece she read that said it is done to ensure the ball glides smoothly and to save players from friction burns. You learn something new every day.

The pitch at Oi Field Hockey Stadium is soaked by water at halftime of today's semifinal game.

Surprise, surprise

It's safe to say that there have been a number of surprises at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Here's a look at a few of those surprises.

The US women's soccer team, before the Opening Ceremonies even took place, was shut out in the first game of the tournament by Sweden. This happened as I was driving to Logan Airport to catch my flight to Tokyo. The US women have been a dominant force over the past decade-plus, so for them to lose that badly in the opening round came as a surprise. That probably made it a little less of a surprise when the team fell short of making the final, falling in the semifinals to Canada. I think, and this is just my opinion, that maybe some of the players hung around a bit too long in search of more Olympic glory and they couldn't keep up with some of the younger teams in the competition. Without a question, this team has been an impressive force for years, but it may be time for a little new blood.

The US men's basketball team also lost in its first game of the Olympics, falling to France and bringing thoughts of an all-out collapse from the US. The team was able to bounce back nicely and get back on track, and as I write this, just knocked off Spain to get into the semifinals. The days of the Dream Team are certainly gone, as there is no Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and the like walking through the doors of the Saitama Super Arena. Kevin Durant is a legit superstar and became the leading US scorer in Olympic men's basketball in this tournament. Beyond him, there are not a lot of big names on the team, with some of the biggest names playing for other countries. It's possible that Gregg Popovich has lost the faith of the players. It's also possible that the players aren't in it for the right reason. But, their success level is still to be determined. Then the rest of the story can be written.

The US softball team had a great run, but its loss to Japan in the gold medal game was certainly a surprise to many. The US women had beaten Japan earlier to earn the "home field advantage" but just couldn't find the offense to do it again in the gold medal game. Softball was definitely an after-thought in these Olympics. The Japanese love baseball and softball officials made some concessions in order to get the sport included when Japan added baseball back in to the Games. The fact that softball was played on a modified baseball field just felt wrong, but again, that was a concession that was made to get the game back in the Olympics. I believe both sports belong in the Games and both sports deserve to be played on their own fields.

Simone Biles pulling out of the team competition, the all-around and the majority of the individual events was definitely a surprise, and while I haven't been watching the NBC coverage, I imagine it was everywhere in their discussions. She was, without question, the face of the Olympics for NBC and losing her certainly had to be concerning to them. I will never pretend to know the amount of pressure that being that face put on her or the physical toll that her body was under as she prepared to perform. Something wasn't right and she made the right choice for her own personal health to step back. She's scheduled to compete again tonight and surely there will still be plenty of cameras on her. Here's hoping she's back to feeling right.

There are always some surprises at the Olympics, this time around has certainly not disappointed in that way. I am sure there will be a few more over the next few days.

Saitama Super Arena was the site of a big upset in the opening round of the men's basketball tournament.

A day of firsts

 Today was a day of firsts in my Olympic experiences and as the day comes to close, reflecting back it was nice to get a couple of those firsts out of the way.

As mentioned in my last blog post, today marked the first time I had applied for and received a ticket to a high-demand event. The USOPC gave me a ticket for tonight’s gymnastics events at Ariake Gymnastics Center. I wasn’t too particular about what events I was seeing, it was more about which night fit best into my schedule. And tonight was it.

I am writing this as the men compete in the rings finals and I must say, that is an insane discipline. Holding themselves up in those crazy positions absolutely still is incredible. The arm strength is amazing. The women’s floor exercise is up next, with the only US gymnast of the evening competing, Jade Carey. The night is closed out by the men’s vault. I am sure this. Would have gotten more play back home if Simone Biles had not backed out of competing in the floor exercise.

The other first of the day came earlier on when I made the trek to the Olympic Stadium to watch track and field action. Believe it or not, over the course of three Olympics, I had never been inside an Olympic Stadium. At the Winter Games, the only things that they are used for are the opening can closing ceremonies and I had never been to those the past two Games. Today, my goal was to see former UNH star Elle Purrier St. Pierre run in the opening round of the 1,500 meters. She was in heat two and came home with a third place finish, which put her into the semifinals, taking place on Wednesday. I also watched some of the 200, including Gabby Thomas of Massachusetts finishing second in her heat.

I must say, being inside the Olympic Stadium was pretty cool, even though it was quite warm. The grandeur of the entire thing was impressive and it was pretty neat in the bowels too, as there was an entire road underneath the stadium with plenty of parking spots. It was not what I expected.

All told, not a terribly busy day, but a day of firsts and after three Olympics, that’s not always the easiest thing to do.

Got my first visit inside an Olympic Stadium today for a little track action.