And now, the end is near

I am sitting in the press tribute of the Bird's Nest Stadium, site of the Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics. It's about four hours before they start and there is rehearsals and general milling around on the stadium floor in front of me.

It's been an interesting, intriguing and incredible two-plus weeks on the other side of the world, but that time is slowly drawing to a close. 

Like for the Opening Ceremonies back on Feb. 3, I took an early bus to the stadium and arrived well ahead of when I needed to, partly to avoid the crowds and partly because I just wanted to get out of the media center. Unlike with the opening ceremonies, I didn't even bother sitting down in the venue media center, instead opting to head down and find a seat in the press tribune to watch the proceedings going on in the lead-up to the ceremonies.

It is decidedly warmer than it was the night of the opening ceremonies when I stayed inside to keep from freezing. So far, I haven't dug out the winter hat or mittens from my bag, but they are there when the time comes. Again, Beijing 2022 provided us with cushions for the seats, which have been a nice addition as they were in the opening ceremonies.

This past summer, I sat in a very similar place as the Tokyo Olympics drew to a close and was at the same time preparing for these Beijing Games, as the paperwork and the processing had already begun at that point. As I sit here ready to close out the Beijing experience, the process for the next Olympics has not started yet. However, they are showing clips of Milan-Cortina's promo video that will be shown to close out the ceremonies and I have to admit, I am already seriously excited about that possibility.

Now, those who know me know that I prefer the Winter Olympics to the Summer Olympics, if only because of the sports offered. While baseball is my favorite sport, I love watching alpine and freestyle skiing and snowboarding and ice hockey, so those sports really draw me into the Winter Olympics. And, we tend to have more local connections in the Winter Games. I have been to Italy before, but I have never been up into the Alps, where the snow sports will take place in 2026 and the possibility of covering an Olympics in a traditional winter setting is intriguing. Sochi, PyeongChang and Beijing have not been your traditional winter destinations, so if the opportunity is there in four years to make that trek, you can bet I will be there.

As for the next Olympics, that's still a question mark in my mind. Heading into Tokyo's final days, I was convinced that Paris 2024 was not going to be high on my list of things to do. The closing ceremony presentation that Paris presented really piqued my interest and as of right now, I still haven't made that decision. I will have to start thinking about it soon, however, as the process for credentialing will be starting sooner rather than later.

But for now, time to enjoy the closing ceremonies. And almost time to put on the winter hat.

National Stadium is quiet as preparations are under way for the closing ceremonies.