Freshly graduated, shipped off to London, and wrapping up his assignment in London. Here is our final missive from Stephen Kasica:
Dear Colorado,
I watched the Olympic closing ceremony in the common room of the hostel I'm now staying at in northern London much like I watched the opening ceremony in Grand Junction: perplexed. To me, these displays of "pop & circumstance" that bookend the 16 days of athletic competition have as much to do with Olympism as the a giant Snoopy float at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has to do with cultures coming together.
But the meaning was not lost on the Brits in the room, who watched every minute and sang loud and proud when their anthem played--which seemed to happen every time "God Save the Queen" was played, even in a subway.
Team GB, as it's called over here, scored 10 more gold medals at these Olympic games than they did at Beijing in 2008. And although the games are now over, their impact on the British people will linger on. British newspapers reported today that the Prime Minister extended the level of funding the UK spends on elite athletics, about $196 million a year, through its original 2014 termination to 2016 for the games in Rio de Janeiro.
Stephen Kasica
Stephen is a Boulder resident and University of Colorado journalism grad reporting for the CU Journalism News Service. Follow his trip through the 2012 London Olympics on Twitter: @stephenkasica
