The last couple weeks were one of the most incredible experiences of my life and that of my teammates I’m sure, but also one of the most disappointing. Being a part of the Olympic atmosphere was something that will motivate me through the rest of my playing career and beyond.
When we stepped into the Olympic village for the first time, everything really kicked in for me. I almost got emotional getting off the transfer bus in front of the Team USA building after driving through all the flags that represented hundreds of nations worldwide. There’s an oura about that place that breathes greatness. Thousands of the highest-level athletes in the world congregate in one place to achieve what only a few have in medaling at an Olympic Games.
One thing that stood out to me was how nice and focused everyone was there. When you’re surrounded by like-minded people, in this case athletes that had been preparing for years of their lives for this one event, there’s a feeling you get that you’re right where you’re meant to be. Everyone communicates well and is focused on achieving greatness, so there’s no hostility between athletes and the desire to support each other is high.
A couple of notes about the village. I never knew there were that many large people in the world. Huge beings like Brett Thompson and Joe Schroeder were small at times being around some of these other athletes which made me extra small. Yes, the bed frames were made of cardboard, but they held up. Danny Barrett tried to body slam one, only to be bounced into the wall. The mattresses were hard themselves, but somehow, I slept well while we were there. The food was more than satisfactory, and the medical attention Team USA provided for us was top notch.
The day after we got to the village, we got to walk in the Opening Ceremony. It was everything I thought it was going to be and more. Obviously, walking out in front of 70,000 roaring fans would’ve been amazing, but that didn’t make it any less of an experience for us. We had a great time mingling with the other US athletes and had some fun conversations with greats like Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Diana Taurasi and several more.
I thought being in the presence of superstars like that would be almost weird, but Danny Barrett said something to us when we were in Mimasaka the night before we went to the village that I’ll remember forever. He told us, “When we get there we’ll be surrounded by stars, but realize that we are Olympic athletes as well and deserve to be in the same environment as them.” One little side note about the Opening Ceremony is that it was HOT. Almost everyone was sweating through their outfits and cranking water to just try and keep the liquids going. Overall, it was a pretty quick process, and we got some good facetime which was cool.
I’m writing this last blog on the flight home from Tokyo to San Diego and I’m still struggling to put what I’m feeling into words that will connect with you guys regarding our games. As I said in one of my earlier blogs, the pressure that we feel representing our great nation when we pull on the jersey is incredibly high, but it is a privilege that we cherish and love. We played some great rugby at times over the weekend but struggled to put together a full 14-minute performance. On Day One, we were ahead in both of our games and allowed Kenya and Ireland to find their way back in. We ground out two wins but we had to work insanely hard to do that, a testament to the mental fortitude of our squad.
We lost a close one to South Africa in our last pool game, but still were comfortably in the quarterfinal ready to take on a skilled Great Britain side. That game will be hard to get over for a long time for me personally. We started it in incredible form and just slowly let it slip with undisciplined play in the second half, myself included obviously. This squad came to the games with one thing in mind, to bring home a medal to our family, friends and fans. We believed fully in our hearts that we would do that. In the end we couldn’t, but the effort and desire that our boys put into these last five years in order to put us in a place to even be able to cannot be discredited.
Many of us have given our adult lives to this program working to push it in the right direction and in the biggest moment of our careers we just barely fell short. It's still hard to swallow a few days later and I really don’t know when I’ll be able to get over it, but I’m so proud of my teammates and this group that we have. Sport can be a cruel world and rugby sevens amplifies it from an intensity, excitement, and disappointment standpoint more than most international games.
Lastly, a few words for you guys, the fans. Thank you for everything! I don’t even know where to start. Thank you for reaching out to us personally and through social media to show your support. Receiving messages of encouragement and motivation from you guys means the world to me and my teammates. Thank you for waking up in the early hours of the night, time and time again to cheer us on live. We couldn’t hear you in the stadium, but we could feel you in the energy that surged through our squad.
The USA Rugby community is tight-knit and we’re lucky to have that, not just the players, but you guys as a whole. Our fans have stayed true to us through the years as we’ve climbed the ladder of World Rugby 7s, and for that we will forever be grateful; hopefully over the past couple weeks, we and the women showed the American sporting public just how exciting rugby is and added a few more fans to our arsenal.
We left our hearts and bodies out on the field in Tokyo. In a few short months, we’ll be back on the horse looking to improve. Hope everyone out there is healthy and getting back to rugby whether it’s club, college or touch. Looking forward to pulling on the jersey again and representing our great country! USA! USA! USA!
See you guys soon.
