Guest Blogger Emily, Butler

My family has always been loyal to the Olympics. My parents went to Los Angeles in 1984, our family went to Atlanta in 1996, and in the years in between, every TV in the house was tuned to the appropriate channel for two straight weeks during the Games. We were thrilled when we found out London got the bid for 2012!

Events we attended in London:
•    Handball (women)
•    Volleyball (women)
•    Beach Volleyball (men and women)
•    Soccer (women)
•    Basketball (men and women)
•    Tennis (men and women)
•    Table Tennis (men)
•    Fencing (men)
•    Cycling (men)
•    Diving (women)
•    Badminton (men)

Sporting Highlights:

• Seeing the almost five-hour tennis match between Federer and del Potro followed by Murray beating Djokovic in two sets to reach the gold-medal match
• Watching Team USA Men’s Basketball set a record for highest-scoring game and largest margin of victory
• Attending two medal ceremonies
• Fencing! Who would have thought that such an obscure sport would be so exciting! It was our favorite event.

Sightseeing Highlights:

• Tower of London—so many infamous people died here (Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey and more) and it’s where the Crown Jewels are housed. We saw one of the largest diamonds in the world
• Churchill War Rooms—a must-see for any WWII fan
• Abbey Road
• Fleur-de-lis … everywhere!

The Rumors:

• Yes, it was really tough for U.K. citizens to get tickets to the games. We were fortunate to have multiple family members entered in the U.S. ticket lottery, and ended up with tickets for at least one event every day. When we would talk with people about what we were seeing, it was easy to see the disappointment and jealousy on the faces of the British people who might only have gotten one set of tickets to an event. 
• Travel wasn’t that bad! I can only think of one tube ride where I felt like a sardine, and it was leaving Wimbledon. Other than that, we had no trouble catching trains and never had to wait long. 

What makes the games so great? Everyone catches the Olympic fever. Streets and shops were decorated everywhere we went. You wouldn’t believe the number of retail windows with gold medals on their mannequins! The organizing committee made London 2012 bunting that was hanging all over and the volunteer force was impressive. They were so friendly and it seemed like their mission was to ensure you had a great time. Even strangers on the subway were talking to one another. It was a fantastic event to be a part of! 

Emily’s mom (also a Kappa!), got a picture with The Key’s cover girl, Evie Stevens! If you would like to see more pictures from their Olympics trip, Emily’s father, John, kept a photoblog.