Tonight I start with a phrase that is even more cliché than the one I use to end each blog post: Let the games begin!

The 2020 Summer Olympics officially start on Friday and I am geeking out a bit. I am a big Olympics fan! Don’t believe me? I have written about the games numerous times over the 10-year history of this blog on topics ranging from my favorite events to the media coverage. Thus, you can probably imagine that the postponement of the games last summer was one of the toughest pandemic-forced blows for me to digest.

I am extremely excited for the Tokyo Olympics!

But that disappointment is in the rear-view mirror and during a summer when we weren’t supposed to have the Olympics we are now just a couple days away from lighting the cauldron. Ah yes, the Opening Ceremony. I still remember watching the Opening Ceremony from the 1996 Summer Olympics with my parents and being absolutely transfixed by the pageantry, spirit, and importance of the event. I became a lifelong fan of the Olympics that night. Kudos to NBC for broadcasting Friday’s Opening Ceremony live (7 a.m. ET, 4 a.m. PT) and for offering an encore showing later in the night. We will be watching!

I can’t wait to watch the athletes compete. There is something pure about the Olympics that no other sporting event can come close to replicating. I don’t know how interested Sloan will be watching the coverage with me but I do hope to introduce her to the Olympics and hope that it can substitute for some of her YouTube programming over the next couple weeks.

There is no doubt in my mind that Tokyo will put on a show and be a great host. I am excited to see what the city has planned and the iconic images that will be generated from the XXXII Olympiad. Let us all take a moment to pray for peace in Tokyo and for the safety of all athletes. Time to compete! Don’t Blink.