I had an exciting Friday night a couple of weeks ago! AT&T is a proud sponsor of USA Gymnastics and they allowed me to attend the Visa Championships hosted by USA Gymnastics with VIP tickets so that I could share my experience with my fellow calm, cool and connected parents. But I didn’t go alone! I was able to take my mother, step-dad, and step-grandmother with me to the American Airlines Center in Dallas. I have never been to a gymnastics competition, not to mention a championship competition. Our VIP tickets gave us almost front row seats to view all the action. Friday night was the continuation of the men’s competition. I had the privilege of seeing the 2012 Olympic hopefuls very close up and my guests for the night seemed to really enjoy watching all the rotations of the men’s competition.
At times it was hard to keep up with every routine as they were all happening simultaneously. I was closest to the floor routines as well as the high bars and parallel bars. I have never in my life, that I can remember, watched a men’s floor routine. Wow, how in the world do they do those handstands, which look way more painful than a standard handstand? Here’s a glimpse of the floor routines:
As I watched the high bar routines, I would cringe every once in a while. It seems that if I asked my elbows to bend as the gymnasts did, the joints would surely give way and I would fly into the stands. Here’s another great video showing some of the amazing talent that we watched:
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I was very touched during the awards ceremony at the end of the night. I was sitting next to Jonathan Horton’s grandparents and his whole family actually. His grandfather stood up and yelled proudly, “that’s my grandson”. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of it now. It was a great family event to attend.
After the competition the excitement didn’t stop. We were also given the opportunity to check out the AT&T Technology Tour. The AT&T Technology Tour is an experiential tour that demonstrates live AT&T services in the home as well as wireless. My family and I were able to see AT&T’s technology firsthand through wireless devices and touch screens. My family was amazed at the all the cool things you can do with technology after going through the tour. It was definitely a night to remember.
Shawn says:
October 7, 2009 at 9:29 am
Wow. You’re lucky to have been there. I LOVE gymnastics. I’m a gymnastics coach now and competed for many years. This is a great sport for boys and girls. I love watching their meets. That must have been something being there right next to their families. These gymnasts are amazing. And they make it look easy. It takes alot of time and hard work to get where these guys are.
Jami says:
October 8, 2009 at 8:08 am
Wow! That would be awesome! I love gymnastics. I did gymnastics as a kid and a teenager…and up until I had my daughter at 23. Having a kid made it impossible to ever bend over backwards (no pun intended…lol) again. Gymnastics has always been one of my fave Olympic sports to watch.
Mary Jane Grissom says:
October 27, 2009 at 12:05 pm
You aptly put into words the feelings we felt, the fun and excitement we had at the competition. Great job, Ef!! Jack told me he really enjoyed the AT&T Technology Tour! Thanks for giving us the oppertunity to share the experience with you!!