Aug. 13, 2008
University of South Carolina Assistant Media Relations Director Andrew Kitick is with the USA Baseball team in Beijing, China for the 2008 Olympics. Andrew checked in today.
Dear Friends,
Greetings from a very warm and humid Beijing on Wednesday afternoon … T-minus two hours before first pitch for the U.S. vs. Korea and while I had a brief moment I thought I would write to all of you on the sights and sounds from China.
Things are running well (knock on wood) so far here at the Olympics … It’s quite an adventure and the first week has been a whirlwind with a lot of special moments along the way.
Probably the No. 1 highlight was the visit from President Bush on Sunday before our exhibition with China … He was tremendously gracious with his time and spent a few moments with each player and staff member on our team … He must have posed for a few hundered pictures along the way including one with yours truly (see attached photo). Anyway … he’s a good baseball fan and sports fan and it was fun to have him out at the field.
Hopefully you had a chance to see the sights and sounds of the Opening Ceremonies … I was very fortunate to receive a ticket to attend and I had a wonderful time … China really went all out for it and it showed with the incredible performances by talented artists.
The weather is hot and humid normally and most of the days it has been hazy … Yesterday (Tuesday) was actually quite nice and we had blue skies for a change … you don’t see that every day here …
I work with some great people and it has been fun getting to know the different Press Officers for the different sports.
Obviously the big story for Team USA thus far has been Michael Phelps and his ability to retain gold after gold … He’s got it cooking so far.
Anyway … that’s just a little description of what is going on here in China … I hope this note finds all of you well back in the States and keep on watching the Olympics on TV and on the internet (NBCOlympics.com).
Wear your Red, White & Blue and go Team USA!
all the best
Andrew
