Oh, the memories. 1996. Billy Payne. Sanford Stadium hosting soccer.
Thirty years ago, if you can believe it.
It was a glorious time to be alive. Gas was slightly above a dollar. Frasier, The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, Whose Line is it Anyway, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Trainspotting and Sling Blade were big in the box office. An Extra Value Meal at McDonalds was $3.89 and you could get a double cheeseburger for 88 cents. Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Mark Morrison, Sublime, Fugees, and the Spice Girls.
What once was, and what it is now. Where’d the time go?
Somehow, we were all in the mix of the world coming to Atlanta, or, at least, the South. Who knows what people thought about us all? We did our best to be hospitable but didn’t have social media like Freddy to let us know if we were getting it right. I remember serving tables at Allie’s Restaurant at the Atlanta Airport Marriott and hosting the men’s gymnast teams from all around the world, and where I realized the rest of the world didn’t tip servers. They didn’t know better. Can’t blame them.
We tip now for a teen barista to put coffee in a cup, pay over five dollars for it, and somehow be thankful. Whatever, as our Gen X teen selves might say.
I recall the torch making its way around Georgia, with the final lighting by Muhammad Ali himself.
It was an amazing time to be alive, might’ve been one of the last pure times of joyfulness I can recall. And then there was this:
There was fun, frustration, and controversy. It made for a rich tapestry of a story.
So, for today’s Wondering…what’s your 1996 Olympic memory? How was it for you? What is the most memorable aspect of it if you were here to observe it?