Daniel McCormick is representing the USA as a Judo Olympian in Beijing, China. Daniel is a former student of Jim Irvine. (Jim is an instructor at the club who recently came to us from Texas). The head instructor for Daniel during his 10 years in Dallas was “Ace” Sukigara assisted by Judy Choquette)

I honestly don't know what words to use to explain the feeling of walking into that stadium with all my teammates.

The first task of our evening was to get dressed in our opening ceremony attire and head to the Fencing Hall where we lined up by sport to meet the current President of the United States. This was only for USA athletes. After a short speech by a USOC representative we were given a few minutes to walk around the Fencing Hall and talk to the other sports. It was at this time I got my photo with softball star Jenny Finch and Dallas Maverick's point guard Jason Kidd. Then President George W. Bush walked into the room. And after a short speech where he wished us all luck he walked around and took individual photos with each team. This was done by the White House photographer and will be mailed to our homes. I debated asking him for a chest bump, but I decided to save that for when I see him in October. He was very polite and funny. After this we were lollygaggin around (as my mother would say) because the a/c felt great inside the Fencing Hall. This is where I saw First Lady Laura Bush. When I was getting my photo taken with her our Team Leader Leo White yells from the background "you got a Texas boy there mam." This started a conversation with 2 of the nicest human beings I have ever met, Laura Bush and an assistant of hers. Laura Bush was beyond polite. We talked about my home town (Arlington, TX) where President Bush at one point owned the Texas Rangers.

After the events at the Fencing Hall they walked us over to the Gymnastics Arena where we waited for a few hours. This is where I met James Blake and Lindsay Davenport, along with the rest of the USA Tennis team. And now I'm a bigger tennis fan then I ever thought I could be. They were all very nice and we were all very hot.

After our hold we started our slow walk from the Gymnastics Arena to the Bird's Nest. We were surrounded on both sides by workers and spectators yelling and cheering for us. As we reached the tunnel to enter the stadium we could hear the cheers from the crowd. When we entered the tunnel the sounds were slighty muffled but we could feel the vibrations of the fans in the stands. As we approached the end of the tunnel we all started to chant "U-S-A!" over and over. It was one of the most amazing feelings of my life walking out of the tunnel infront of that incredible stadium with all my teammates hearing the cheers of the crowd for USA. The stadium was packed. The only reason the seats were empty was if the occupants were standing to make their cheers. We circled the track behind Lopez Lomong our flag bearer. As we came to where we entered we cut back up the center of the stadium and it truely felt like we were on top of the world. It was amazing the sounds and vibrations were constant. Once we got through the center of the stadium we settled into our area and watched the rest of the countries finish. We were the 140th country of a little over 200 teams. Once all the teams were settled the announcement that the Games were officially underway was made. Then they gave the Athlete Code and Officials Code, and the Olympic Flag was raised. Then the torch entered the stadium. As it made its way around the track we were having problems finding it because of the amount of people on the field. After it made its way around the track, it was given to the man who would be running with it hundreds of feet above the ground. As he circled the stadium the names of the different cities it visited appeared behind him until it reached the end of the stadium, where the Olympic Torch was lit. As soon as the enormous torch was lit the largest firework display in the history of mankind (literally) was given. And even though we did not have the best view of these fireworks (they were outside of the stadium) we could feel the explosions as we were all watchin on the big screens.

After last night I don't know if anything can compare.

It was the first day of competion for the Judo athletes. It was lightweight men (60 kilo) and lightweight female (48 kilo). Team USA did not get any medals today but we fought well against tough opponents.

The venue is amazing. The warmup area alone is as nice as any dojo I have ever seen. There are 3 full mat areas for a warmup area. It was very crowded because of other countries working out there during the tournament. The stadium is brand new and very large. I can't wait to experience the feeling I will have when I walk out of that tunnel and onto those mats on Friday.

It is getting late here and I need to run off to bed. I am in desperate need of beauty sleepy. I have attached photos of myself with Laura Bush, James Blake, and Lindsay Davenport. I have also attached a photo of my view behind our flag as we walk towards the Bird's Nest. And there is also a photo of my teammate Travis Stevens (81 kilos) and myself modeling our opening ceremonies attire. And I would like to take this time to apologize to my mom because my tie is loose in that photo.

Thanks

Daniel