Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2008 (20. évfolyam, 3-51. szám)
2008-08-15 / 33. szám
AMERICAN Hungarian Journal Beijing Olympics' Opening Ceremonies Watched All Over the World The Games of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing opened with 2,008 drummers pounding in unison to the brilliant flashing of thousands of colored lights, fireworks, dancing and acrobatics. It ended with the spectacular airborne lighting of the cauldron just inside the roof of China’s National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest. Amid Friday night’s spectacle, athletes from 205 nations marched in and celebrated what is being touted as China’s emergence as a cultural, political and economic power. “For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the world’s athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games,” said Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee. “Tonight that dream comes true.” The show, put on in weather fit for a health club steam room, was full of flash and pizzazz, with the usual pomp and circumstance thrown into the mix. In what may be a sign that the gods really are lined up in China’s favor, there was no rain. The United States, with Kobe Bryant and his basketball teammates strutting along in the back of the pack, was by far the largest contingent, marching into the stadium wearing navy blue blazers, white pants and white caps. The athletes were greeted with loud cheers and applause by the Chinese. The Chinese also gave rousing ovations to the athletes from Pakistan, Russia, Cuba, Iraq and - as if anyone has ever disliked them - Canada. The ovations were nothing compared with those for Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong, but all greetings paled in comparison to the uproar when the Chinese team entered. “Jaiyou, jaiyou,” the crowd chanted as the whole stadium pulsated with waving red flags. The word, pronounced “jie yo,” literally means gas or fuel, but in China it is the equivalent of “go, go.” The drama, which lasted four hours and 10 minutes, concluded with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by the famous Chinese gymnast Li Ning, who was lifted into the air some 300 feet to the top of the stadium by an invisible wire. From there, he ran around the lip of the stadium, finally lighting a fuse that sent fire snaking up the giant cauldron, which erupted in flame. The Olympic slogan, “One World, One Dream,” represents, in essence, an extended hand from this 5,000-year-old nation of 1.3 billion people to the rest of the world. But that hand has been slapped in the run-up to the Games. Protests around the world and disruptions of the Olympic torch run as a result of China’s handling Singer Sarah Brightman was among the performers of Tibetan protests for autonomy embarrassed the Chinese government. China’s cozy relationship with the purveyors of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan has also been a sore subject. Relations with the West have been strained as problems of access and press freedom have persisted despite promises by the Chinese government to allow journalists anywhere they want to go. Most experts believe, nevertheless, that Western, especially American, money and influence will move China away from the kind of authoritarian activities that have created so much controversy. These Olympics are an opportunity to see what kind of progress has been made. The traditional parade of nations was the first test, and it went off without a hitch or protest. Papua New Guinea’s athletes may have had the most dazzling costumes, wearing red and gold with black skirts for both men and women. Some fashion statements didn’t work, like Israel’s striped shirt getup or the lime green that Lithuania wore. The flag bearer for the United States was track athlete Lopez Lomong, a former refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan who qualified to represent his adopted country in the 1,500 meters. Lomong, who spent 10 years in a refugee camp after soldiers hauled him away from his parents, was selected by his teammates in what was seen by some as a swipe against China. Basketball player Yao Ming was again the flag bearer for China, reprising his role in Athens four years ago. He marched into the stadium with 9-year-old Lin Hao, who is a hero in China for saving two of his classmates during the recent earthquake in Sichuan province. Unlike four years ago, North and South Korea did not march together. In fact, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea moved four positions back just before the ceremony, apparently so its athletes wouldn’t have to follow behind their counterparts in South Korea. JAZZ on Melrose at the Duna Csárda Restaurant now on Wednesday nights! No Cover, No Minimum. Various outstanding pianists, Drummer Steve Hideg, Bassist/ Vocalist Tom Pedrini. 5820 Melrose Avenue (323) 962-6434 The English Page of the Hírlap can serve as a bridge between the non-Hungarian-speaking members of the fam- 1 ily and the community, j Use it to bring people together! Subscribe to the Hirlap! Advertise your ■ business in the Hirlap! If you have any questions or suggestions, please call (323) 463-6376 DUNA Travel 8530 Holloway Dr. m2 W. Hollywood, CA 90069 Spa, Hotel foglalások, Kocsi bérlés Kedvezményes repülőjegy árak LAX-BUD-LAX $531 .-tői +Tax +Fee szeptember 10-től Információért hívják ZSUZSÁT TEL: (310) 652-5294 FAX: (310) 652-5287 1-888-532-0168 Former U.S. Olympian's Parents Slain in Beijing An undated family photo released by Bachman’s Inc., a Minneapolis company, CEO Todd Bachman, right, is shown with his wife Barbara, left, and daughter, former Olympian Elisabeth, center. BEIJING - A knife-wielding man. An unprovoked attack. A husband dead and his wife in critical condition. Their daughter, a former U.S. Olympian, at the scene of the crime where the assailant jumps 130 feet to his death and everyone is left to wonder: Why? The question remains unanswered in part because details of the attack remain scarce. But a portrait of the victims that has emerged after a series of interviews helps explain why a deep, personal grief has swept across pockets of the United States and rocked the tight-knight world of volleyball. “It’s like losing part of your family,” said Nancy Metcalf, a member of the 2004 U.S. women’s volleyball team. Their names are Todd and Barbara Bachman. Their daughter Elisabeth played for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, and their son-inlaw, Hugh McCutcheon, is the head coach of the U.S. men’s volleyball team. Their story begins when UCLA’s volleyball coaches arrived in 1995 at the Bachman home in suburban Minneapolis hoping to sign Elisabeth, then one the nation’s most coveted recruits. The front door swung open, and so did the Bachmans’ arms. They greeted UCLA’s coaches with an embrace and took them on a tour of a home lined with family photos. “They immediately made you feel so at ease, as it if was your home too,” said Andy Banachowski, UCLA’s head coach. Recalled UCLA assistant coach Kim Jagd, “We were selling the Bachmans on UCLA, but they truly wanted to get to know us.” The Bruins landed their prized recruit, and the folks in Minnesota could have told the coaches what they were getting. Elisabeth started playing volleyball as a seventh-grader and her parents turned the house into a gathering spot for the teams and chaperoned them on trips. The Bruins weren’t getting just a star player; they were getting an entire family. Todd and Barbara Bachman showed up to UCLA’s games - virtually every one, home and away - and entrusted their large-scale Minneapolis-based floral business to other family members. At the volleyball team’s potluck dinners, they brought a special homemade confection. “Bachman bars,” the Bruins called them, and they became as much a fixture of the program as the couple from Minneapolis. “You knew 30, 40 minutes before the game they would be there, smiling and cheering,” said Michelle Quon, one of Elisabeth’s former teammates at UCLA. Their disposition manifested itself when their daughter, who goes by the nickname “Wiz,” took the court. UCLA’s coaches watched with amusement as Elisabeth soared above the net time and again, driving spikes at her opponents. “The first thing she would do is apologize to the player for hitting somebody,” Banachowski said. “And it wasn’t sarcastic. It was a genuine remark, a reflection of Wiz’s parents.” During every visit to the campus, they greeted the coaches and players with hugs and a fresh batch of those homemade treats. When Elisabeth graduated from UCLA in 2000, the family handed out the recipe, and the Bachman bars spread. Elisabeth made the U.S. national team. She was part of a squad that ascended to No. 1 in the world and arrived at the 2004 games expected to win the gold. Instead, they won only three of six matches. But even after defeats, there were two grinning fans waiting for them. “Go get ‘em next time, girls,” the Bachmans would say. Around the holidays, the family’s countless fans received Christmas cards bearing a picture of Todd and Barbara squeezed around their daughter during the Opening Ceremony, expectations and medals be damned. The Drum Tower was the site of the stabbing of Todd Bachman and his wife, Barbara, before the attacker committed suicide by jumping off the structure. “They had just as much fun watching Wiz play volleyball as Wiz had playing volleyball,” said Amy Hughes, who handled publicity for the UCLA teams on which Elisabeth starred. Six years after Elisabeth graduated from UCLA, the Bruins arrived in Minneapolis for two games and Todd and Barb Bachman were in the crowd cheering as if their daughter were still on the team. Her career ended when she retired shortly before marrying McCutcheon in 2007, and the Bachmans adopted his team as if were part of their family. Augusztus 15, 2008
