The Finale…

As I watched the figure skating encores tonight I keep having these boo hoo moments, mixed with moments of joy. First they did on of those “Bob Costas highlight” moments about Sarah Hughes’ performance last night. Watching it again brought tears to my eyes. Then Michelle Kwan skated, and she showed her true grace that makes her the champion that she will always be. She is absolutely amazing, she has such dignity. At the end of her performance she was crying … and so was I. There were performances that made me laugh too – Timothy Goebbel was great; Sale & Pelletier had some get down boogie going on that was a lot of fun. Then the Russian pair team came out to skate, and did what they always do – showed such innovative and amazing moves. It is stunning to watch them skate, they really are poetry in motion. Yagudin performed, then left the ice to change shirts … and they showed it. Ooooh, baby! Hot, hot, hot… Sarah Hughes had two encores – one was a lot of fun, fresh & funky. The other one was more somber – a tribute to New York. After that, the finale … and I’m crying again. Wow. I love this part. Everyone is out on the ice again. But what was so cool was when the Canadian pair & the Russian pair were announced and they skated together in unison – the men both lifting their partners up high in the same pose. Then they formed a crack-the-whip like line, then shifted so that the men were together spinning the women in a death spiral position – as if it was one pair, just made up of 4 people. It’s nearly impossible to describe with words, but it teared me up again. It showed such unity among the two teams, like they have no hard feelings about sharing the gold medal status. The whole finale was skated to the “light the fire within” song from the Opening Ceremony, and they formed the Olympic rings on the ice with the flags. I will say it again – the 2002 Winter Olympics had some of the best skating I have seen in years. And the most consistent with the strongest competition. I’ve really enjoyed it all. How soon until the World competition? A month? Is it time for the 2006 Olympic Games yet?