We woke up early on Wednesday morning to get ready for the day and to get our things together. We found out that morning that Oprah's taping would begin at 10 am. We arrived at MP around 9:15 am. We were given Olympic pins which was our little souvenir of the day. We walked into the lawn area and were surprised that we didn't have too bad a spot at all. When we walked in, I saw Chris Rock and his wife (more on that later). It is one of those things where you see so many famous people in person all at once that it's one of those "pinch yourself" moments. The warm-up lady was having the crowd practice different "cheering" for different things. She also had some practice Q&A times. I must say, now that I've been to a taping, I understand what goes on before airing, during commercials, and after the show. It was a neat experience even from that aspect.
Anyway, the crowd warm-up lady informed everyone that this was the FIRST show kids have ever been allowed to attend. Normally you have to be 18 years old. There were only a handful of kids. Most were in school anyway--obviously. She also announced that this was one of the biggest Oprah shows ever. Everyone was buzzing with excitement...c'mon 175 top Olympic medalists--including the one and only PHELPS! We finally saw the Olympians lining up to come in before official airing. Those medals gleamed in the sunlight. They waved and of course everyone was about to burst they were so excited. Another side note...there are a TON of cameras and even several helicopters flying overhead. Some of the cameras are on these like 50 foot pole-type things. Those are the ones that typically sweep over and around the audience. There were 3 cameras up on booms. The police presence was incredible. The police were on horseback, bicycles, segways (sp), foot, squad car, and probably any mode I have forgotten. Finally, the announcer came on and announced the show and out came Cleopatra...I mean Oprah. These giant velvety curtains opened and there she was. A few observations on Oprah:
she had giant hair that day (it was even more giant than you would see on tv)she was speaking in a deep voice that day
She made her intro and brought in the Olympians--everyone went wild!! Once they say that they will be back right after this, they arrange people and things on the stage and figure out exactly where they are going to go/do. Suprisingly there is a large amount of dead time which is filled by highlights of various medal-moments of the Olympics. The crowd knows when to cheer as they are going back to taping. Michael Phelps was interviewed first of course. She probably spent the longest talking to both Michael and his mother. I noticed that several things were cut out of his interview once the show aired. Things like...his love interest (to which he said some things must be kept private), what he has done with his million from Speedo (I don't recall that part airing but maybe I'm wrong) I'll have to go back and watch the tape etc... They interviewed Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Dara Torres, Jenny Finch, Kobe Bryant, Misty May & Kerri Walsh and the women's 4 X 400 medley relay from track as well as the other members of Phelps 4 x 100 relay. The show went for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. That's why they had to cut stuff out. They posed them all for photographs which took quite awhile. Shawn Johnson only came up to Phelps elbow (if even).
The entertainment of the day was exciting, although it was almost lost in the complete excitement of the Olympians. It was David Cook (this year's AI winner). He sang "Time of Your Life" while the athletes all came to greet the crowd. Everyone was beyond excited at that point.
Keep in mind that if you were in the seats, you were not allowed to take pics or anything. My regular camera was dead. I think I got one photo and that was basically--turn on and snap and that it turned off. All of these pics were taken on cell phone--thus major lack of zoom and delay in shots. The pic above is the big picture they were all having taken with Oprah. Michael Phelps and Shawn J. are on your left and Oprah is in dark blue.
I also forgot to mention that Oprah's best friend, Gayle King was there along with Mayor Daley (his first Oprah show attendance also), Chris Rock & his wife, and many Olympian's parents.
Following the show, we (at my urging) made a bee-line to the outside where we knew that they would be exiting eventually. We were in a crowd of people, but decided to move across the street where we had a clearer view. The crowds by the buses were pretty hemmed in by police and such. We did get to see a lot more on that side. There were several double-deckers (probably 8) and then Black Escalades for special people such as Michael Phelps, Oprah, Misty May, Kerri Walsh, I believe Shawn & Nastia, Michael's mom & sisters. Some of the Olympians crossed the street right by us and took a cab (not sure why). As we were walking out of MP, I had just put my camera away and I came within feet of Chris Rock again. He looks the exact same in person--giant smile, signature voice. By the time I got the phone back out and camera back on, he was walking away.
I think I mentioned before that the men's gymnastics team were funny. We (myself and some girls next to me) yelled Jonathan Horton's name and he and 2 others decided to do handstands on the top of the bus. They did it several times. He (Horton) is just as charismatic in person as he was on television during the meet. When the buses began to pull away, they drove right past. He smiled, yelled and waved at us all. Dara Torres--wow--you can see the muscles on her arms a mile away! I can see why she did so well. Oprah was one of the last to leave in a black escalade. I figured her vehicle would go straight. Instead, they turned around and drove right past us. I had my phone away because I didn't expect to be able to see her. Well, wrong again...she rolled her window down right in front of us and yelled out the window--thank you and some other stuff and waved. I'm sure that few feet is the closest I will ever get to Oprah. She had on gold jewelry--notably a gold bracelet. Off she went down the streets of Chicago.
All in all, it was an awesome experience. It's one thing to see the Olympics on TV and cheer for these people for a couple of weeks every four years, but it's another to get so close to them and high-five them and see them in person. I have always been a HUGE HUGE fan of the Olympics (since I was 6). I remember watching Mary Lou get the gold!
A couple of questions we have been asked repeatedly:
1. Did Oprah give away anything? No--I'm guessing having 175 Olympic medalists was her gift. We only got the pin. I don't even think everyone got those.
2. How did you get in? It was by accident and worked out great that we were able to get to MP and we didn't have to have tickets.
3. Is Oprah still thinner or is she bigger again? I would say she has a typical AA woman's build. She maybe didn't look as thin as some previous shows I have seen, but I'm sure many factors weigh into that.
4. Did you get Michael Phelps' autograph? No--and I would be surprised if very many/if any did. They specifically said the athletes were not doing autographs or photos.
I'm ready to go again!!
In my pictures, you will see Brendan Hansen (gold medalist in swimming)--I missed getting the medal in the pic =(. BTW, he lost his medal on a plane flight last week, but it was found and turned in--whew! Also, there was Brian Clay (decathalon gold) and some track stars and others who I can't name.
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