The Olympic Games is a made-for-TV spectacular. And with NBC broadcasting 1,400 hours of competition on six networks and three premium-cable channels, there's something for everyone. (Click here for a complete guide to coverage.) Below, find our guide to eight events and storylines you'll enjoy following with your grandchildren.
A "Lost Boy" Carries the Flag
The opening ceremony of the Games (Friday, August 8) is always a spectacular event, as athletes from around the world march into the Olympic stadium (above) and the host-country (this year, China) welcomes them with a dazzling show. Carrying the U.S. flag and leading the country's Olympic delegation will be track star Lopez Lomong, 23. Born in Sudan, Lomong was 6 when he was separated from his parents during a brutal civil war. He ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya but in 2001, came to the United States as part of a group of "lost boys" from Sudan. Lomong became a world-class 1,500-meter runner here, and on July 6, 2007, he became a U.S. citizen. He qualified for the Olympics exactly one year later. Lomong is now part of a 1,500-meter U.S. team composed entirely of naturalized citizens, including Bernard Lagat, born in Kenya, and Leo Manzano, who came from Mexico. "There are no words to describe it," Lomong has said. "In America, everyone has a chance to do all these things."
The Family That Fights Together
Mark, Steven, and Diana Lopez of Sugar Land, Tex., have a chance to make Olympic history for the United States in the tae kwon do competition. They are the first set of three siblings to compete for the country in the same Olympics since 1904. And all three have won world championships in their respective weight classes. Given the popularity of martial arts with kids, and the appeal of the Lopez family, this is a wonderful event to watch with your grandchildren.
En Garde!
Do your grandchildren love watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Then show them what real swordplay looks like. The Olympic fencing competition features at least one U.S. medal hopeful — Sada Jacobson, 25, of Dunwoody, Ga. The world's top-ranked sabre competitor, Jacobson had to settle for a bronze medal in Athens in 2004.
All-American Girls
The women's gymnastics competition is always one of the most-watched events of the Olympics. Shawn Johnson, 16, of West Des Moines, Ia., the reigning world champion, has said that the United States could sweep the medals in the women's all-around. Former Chinese gymnastics star Liang Chow coaches Johnson, and has helped make her a star. He came to the U.S, opened a gymnastics studio in Des Moines, then a 6-year-old girl with a lot of promise walked in and the rest is history. The team's other leading contender, Nastia Liukin, 18, was born in Moscow. Her father, Valeri, won two gold medals for the Soviet Union in 1988, and moved his family to the U.S. when Nastia was a child.
Bottom of the Ninth
The International Olympic Committee angered U.S. fans when it voted to drop both baseball and softball from future games in 2005. So the Beijing Olympics is the last chance for U.S. ball clubs to go for the gold. Expect the dominant softball team, especially, to go all out to win its fourth gold medal in as many tries. In Athens in 2004, the team won its nine games by a combined score of 51 to 1. After the Games, U.S. officials will lobby to get the national pastime back in the Olympics. The earliest the sports could come back is 2016.
Some Like It Rough
Some kids may think the Olympics are "soft" because gymnasts dance around and swimmers never fight. They'll get a different perspective if they tune in to a couple of water-polo matches. These teams feature some of the toughest athletes in the Games — consider that they have to tread water for an entire match, while trying to score goals in a game that's a mix of handball and soccer. It's also the most violent team sport in the Olympics, with frequent hard fouls and untold kicks at opponents below the surface of the pool.
A New Extreme
Expect grandkids to get psyched for the latest "extreme sport" to join the Olympic lineup — BMX racing. Donny Robinson, 25, of Napa, Calif., is the leading U.S. medal-contender. Though he's been racing bikes since he was 8, Robinson also has gymnastics training — and he hopes to star on Broadway when his biking career ends. But right now, he'll try to pick up a gold medal on a Beijing supercross track guaranteed to excite young fans. The course starts bikers on a 30-foot hill, far higher then the hills that start professional BMX events. And it's all downhill, and uphill, and downhill from there.
An Inspiring End
At the opening ceremonies, it's all about marching in with your national teammates. At the closing ceremonies, each country selects one athlete from the Games to carry its flag back into the stadium. All the other athletes march in together, representing friendship between young people of all nations — which is, after all, the whole point of the Olympics.
To meet America's only grandparent Olympian, click here. Elsewhere on Grandparents.com, find 100 more things to do with your grandchildren this summer, and learn the 25 reasons kids love grandparents.
