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"The
Greatest Snow on Earth": The Winter Olympics in Downtown Salt
Lake City
by
Dallas Petersen
Friends to
All Nations
Before
and after winning the Olympic bid,controversy swelled over whether
or not hosting the Olympics in Utah was a good thing. Pundits worried
about such potential ills as increased traffic, the spoiling of
Utah's environment, and more. It remains to be seen what, if anything,
will become of these worries, so I won't comment on them. There
is risk in anything that is worth doing.
For now, I'm
enjoying the attention that the fine state of Utah is garnering.
There is much of beauty in the environment, the culture, and the
people. It remains to be seen what the press and others will say,
but I'm willing to predict the Salt Lake Winter Olympics will be
a thorough success.
I love watching
sports, particularly the Olympics. I see the Salt Lake Olympics
as the chance of a lifetime; Imagine! I'm in the midst of the world's
most prestigious athletic competition in the world. I won't be attending
any events in person, but being able to soak in the excitement from
native Utahns and visitors walking around Temple Square and staying
glued to the tube will more than suffice.
The Olympics
represent much of what is truly great in humans—discipline,
honor, honest competition, cooperation, unity, integrity... the
list of virtues could continue. I find the struggle of the Olympic
athlete inspiring—the bravado of the ski jumper hurtling through
the air, the subtle power and grace of the figure skater doing a
triple lutz, the precision and strategy of the curler, the fearlessnes
of the skeleton sledder, the strength of the downhill skier... Enjoy
these next few weeks—I will.
Banners like this one express the Church's theme for the Olympics—"Friends
to All Nations."
During the mid to late 1800's this railway station was the gateway
to Utah. Trains have long since ceased to travel to this station,
but they've found an interesting distant cousin in "Trax,"
Utah's popular light rail system. Rather than arriving in Utah via
train as in times of old, visitors to the Olympics will travel throughout
Salt Lake County on Trax. The Union Pacific Station serves as the
end of the line for northwest bound Trax.
Visitors driving east on N. Temple are greeted by this sign.
The Conference Center awaits visitors from around the world. A variety
of concerts will be available to the public during the three weeks
of Olympic festivities.
(All
photographs Copyright 2002 Dallas Petersen)
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© 2002 Meridian
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