Page 21 - Unlikely Stories 2

Asian Games

Well, buddy: you found out I used to be a sportswriter, eh? And of
course you wonder why I would give up such a wonderful beat.
You’ve been on the Examiner a couple of years now, and we’ve
become good friends; so I might as well tell you the reason. We have
a few more minutes before we have to go back to the office. But let
me warn you: you may not look at me the same way after you hear it.
Sure you want to?
Okay. The paper had the budget to send someone to the 2008
Olympics in Beijing. Aaron Knight, who’s still following the
Chippers, obviously couldn’t leave the baseball season. Algie Bloom,
who had seniority and might have taken the assignment, had a
conflict with vacation plans. Tom Long probably knew more than I
did about track and field, but he had asthma and his doctor forbid
him to go into that polluted atmosphere. So I was the default choice,
and I determined to do a good job and impress my editor. We
couldn’t afford a photographer, as well, but we were already paying
for the AP feed, and no shortage of dramatic images was anticipated.
I had a cheap camera, but it turned out to be useless.
So, off I went. No, the air didn’t bother me. In fact, I think the
Chinese government must have installed a thousand gigantic fans to
blow the smog out of town before the opening ceremonies. Then the
fireworks created a whole new microclimate for a few days. Anyway,
given the propaganda coup the PRC hoped to achieve by pulling out
all the stops, I had very nice accommodations and, I must say, some
pretty good Chinese food. I filed my reports in a very well-appointed
press center, and was finding it relatively simple to evoke drama
when it occurred without straining my vocabulary or imagination.
Then it was the day of the men’s marathon. There must have been
a million Chinese along the route. It had comparatively few twists
and turns—the city has some very long, straight boulevards. I tried to
get as much inside dope as I could before the thing started, so I could
pick the best spot to stand. It turned out to be about kilometer 35, on
Beitucheng Road: the greatest concentration of spectators and
reporters would be near the beginning and the end, and I figured the

20