Olympic Fever!

I admit it, I have Olympic fever.  I watched everything this past weekend from womens' skeet shooting to synchronized diving and beyond.  I even was up overnight and watched whitewater canoeing.  Yeah, I didn't know that existed as a sport, either, until Mary Carillo told me it was at 12am.

I always seem to think, though, as I watch these awesome human beings perform feats that I never could and never will, that they are from all over the place:  California, New York, South Dakota.  For some reason, and perhaps this comes from growing up in a small town, I never think that the people I'm watching on TV are from my home area.  But, now that I'm in North Carolina, they are.

  It's hard for me to grasp that the man on the far left, Cullen Jones,won a silver medal yesterday in the men's 4x100 freestyle relay.  He went to NC State.

It's crazy to think that the woman on the bottom of this photo, Abby Johnston, dives for Duke.  She's a silver medalist now, too.

Marathoner Shalane Flanagan went to Carolina.  Will she go to the medals podium?

Jesse Williams went to Broughton.  He's also badass in the high jump. 

Nick McCrory is from Chapel Hill.  He wears Duke Blue.  He also wears a medal around his neck--but since tonight's primetime coverage hasn't aired yet, I don't want to spoil it for you folks who are waiting to watch it on TV.


Here is my point:  here are five amazing athletes, and they all have ties to the Triangle.  It blows my mind that we've got no less than five Olympians here, plus amazing national title winning basketball teams, and great academics too.  Is there something in the water?  If there is, please excuse me for a second.  I'm going to get a drink.



Alli



Like Alli Morgan on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.