Beijing Olympics Begin - Follow Your Philadelphia / South Jersey Area Olympians

I don't know about you, but I'm psyched for the Beijing Olympics which begin tomorrow... unless you count the soccer which has already begun! I'm really interested in watching the gymnastics, especially the women's gymnastics which take place next week. The women certainly won the heart of the Philadelphia area when they were here for the Olympic Trials in June at the Wachovia Center. I'm just afraid that too much is being expected of them and that we're likely to be disappointed. The home-town Chinese women gymnasts are supposed to be great too... but did you hear that three of their top gymnasts may be underage and there's a chance they could be barred for competition? I won't feel bad at all if their banned. Did you hear that the Chinese government denies entry visas for our alternate female gymnasts forcing them to train in Japan? They won't even get to see their teammates go for the gold. The games haven't even started and politics has reared its ugly head, as we expected it would in China. The Chinese government today told President Bush to mind his own business and stop commenting on China's human rights violations. It's interesting, I'm not even sure that there are human rights in China for most people. Anyway, the games will start tomorrow and there are lots of local athletes to keep track of. I've compiled a list of all that I can find with background information on each. Check out my feature on Philadelphia / South Jersey area Olympians.