Let the Games Begin!

So I know I have said there have been a number of long days and nights so far during my time in Israel, but last night takes the cake. Like every other day we were up early to head to the track for practice and then had a few hours to eat and relax before heading to Jerusalem for the opening ceremonies.

This was the first day when we were totally in the hands of the Israelis/World Maccabiah and there were certainly some logistical issues. Our track time was set to be 8-10am, however our return bus did not arrive at the track to pick us up until closer to 11. We are staying at the same hotel as the Canadian team (which is much smaller than ours) so we had some time to try to find some shade and get to know them a bit better.

We departed for Jerusalem at 3pm, well ahead of the 8pm start to the Opening Ceremonies. It took a little longer than normal to get there from Tel Aviv because of traffic. Thursday is somewhat like an American Friday in Israel, since many people do not work on Friday or Saturday for Shabbat. We had similar traffic the previous Thursday when we traveled from the airport to the Kibbutz. We arrived at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem with PLENTY of time to spare. Thankfully there was a big tent set up with food and water to keep us relatively occupied for the remaining 2-3 hours we had until the ceremonies started.

Since yesterday officially started the Maccabiah it seems fitting to have today's word of the day be Ruach which means Spirit. Heading into the Opening Ceremonies there was plenty of Ruach on display not just from the USA delegation but from all of the other countries as well. Also by the way, if anyone wants to see the Opening Ceremonies (I meant to tell people this yesterday), but check to see if you have JLTV. I know Fios and Xfinity both carry the channel although it is pretty high up. It was played twice yesterday (once live) and I am sure they will replay it again, or perhaps it is even on demand. If not you can stream it on their website. The channel and website will both also show many of the sporting events during the Maccabiah.


One big highlight of our time before entering the stadium a certain assistant coach of the Canadian Basketball team. Perhaps you have heard of him? Amar'e Stoudemire, you know the one on the Knicks. He was getting absolutely mobbed, and understandably so. Eventually he posed for some pictures with groups and I was lucky enough to get a picture with a couple of my teammates. While a lot of the guys were really into meeting Amar'e, most girls (at least on our team) were looking for Steve Solomon - the Olympic 400m runner from Australia. After a few hours of running around trying to trade pins (or being begged for pins by Israeli scouts (similar to boy/girl scouts) we were ready to line up and enter the stadium.

The order is based on how the country is spelled in Hebrew, so America was early on, second only to Australia I believe since it begins with the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet - Aleph. Walking into the stadium was crazy. We walked around a massive stage set up in the center of the stadium in front of the nearly 30,000 screaming fans, many of whom were friends and family members of those competing (including my parents who I tried to pick out, but was not fortunate enough to find). Eventually we made our way all the way around the stadium and up into our seats to watch the rest of the countries march in.

The final country to enter was our host - Israel, with the largest delegation and receiving the largest cheers. Once they made there way into the stadium and the Israeli Flag was raised, the ceremony was set to begin. Everyone joined in the singing of Hatikvah (Israeli National Anthem) and then a number of Israeli singers and musicians took the stage. They also had a great rendition of one of my favorite songs - "Hallelujah" by a finalist on the show "X-Factor"


Once much of the music was done we were spoken to by some of the top members of the Israeli government including the Prime Minister and President. Much of the speeches were in Hebrew, but a few words were eventually spoken in English, emphasizing that while many folks around the world say "next year in Jerusalem" we are fortunate enough to say "this year in Jerusalem". Following the speeches by the Israeli politicians, the video screen turned on with a special message for Team USA from President Obama - this really got our delegation going. The Brits also received a message from their PM, I almost felt bad for all of the other countries, but I guess that's just how it is some times.

Finally it was time for the torch to arrive. A number of successful Israeli athletes passed the torch around the stadium until it was handed to the final torch bearer, the one that would light the Maccabiah Flame. To me the Maccabiah flame represents something even bigger than that of the Olympics because of the Maccabis story. For those who do not know the story of the Maccabis and Hanukkah, the holiday is set to commemorate amongst other things, a time when a small amount of oil, that should only have lit a candle for one night actually stayed lit for 8 nights (the length of the Hanukkah). There is a lot more to the story, but that is the relevant part for this post. Since a big part of the Maccabi history revolves around oil and light and flame, it seems that the Maccabiah flame is the most appropriate symbol for the games regardless of what occurs at other sporting events.

The final torch bearer was not an Israeli athlete but rather an American. Aly Raisman, the U.S. Gymnastics Olympian from London lit the torch in the center of the stadium which sent the flame up to the large torch that was just above the athlete section of the stadium, where I believe the flame will stay lit until we return to Teddy Stadium for the closing ceremonies. We are still not sure if Aly will compete for the U.S. gymnastics team here in Israel, but regardless it was awesome for our delegation to have one of our own hold such a prestigious honor. Perhaps it will give us just a small taste of home field advantage on foreign soil.

Departing the stadium became super hectic, trying to find the rest of our team and eventually our bus that was hidden in a lot across a semi-major road, down below a gas station. If that seems a little hard to follow, you can just imagine what it was like in the moment. We eventually found everyone and our bus and made our way back to Tel Aviv, finally arriving at the hotel around 2:30am, nearly a full 12 hours after we left. It was late and we all got straight to bed. Many of us took a chance to sleep in an will run later today after it cools down a bit. I still have 6 days before I compete, so I should have enough time to catch up on sleep. Today was a lazy day, hanging around the hotel and relaxing, so I am already in the process of making up for lack of sleep the first week here.