Sold Out...But Plenty of Empty Seats
So far, we've been to three of our four events. We saw men's gymnastics (including Team USA), women's gymnastics (France, Brazil and some mixed groups), and two men's basketball games (Iran/Russia and Germany/Angola).
It's my understanding that everything is sold out; however, there have been plenty of seats where we've been. It's kind of sad that there are so many people who want tickets and so many empty seats, but no way to get them. I'm sure a fair number of them are reserved for athletes, sponsors, media, family, etc. – but there are still plenty more. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as ticket scalpers. I've seen a few folks with signs that say "I need tickets," usually in multiple languages, but none with signs to sell tickets. There were a couple of people on our Great Wall tour the other day who came here with no tickets, expecting they would be available. We are definitely glad we planned ahead and got ours!
We've got spirit, yes we do...
One of my favorite parts about being at the Olympics was seeing people get excited and cheer for their country. The Brazilians seemed to be especially good at this. One of the 
beach volleyball matches we saw was Brazil against Georgia. The Brazilian men's team won the gold at the last Olympics, and this was Georgia's first time at the Olympics for beach volleyball. The Brazilian fans were loud and crazy - and having a great time. But there were plenty of people cheering for the underdogs, too. Though Georgia was playing a tough team, they held their own. I think everyone NOT from Brazil was cheering for Georgia. The same principle rang true at the basketball games we saw. Though Russia and Germany were no match for Iran and Angola, respectively, all the teams seemed to have plenty of fans and people to cheer for them. I guess that's part of the Olympic spirit.
Stephanie Garwood
ACSM Staff
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