The 2009 Olympiad of BPYAN (Brian): Day in Olympia

This post is relative to Monday in Olympia:

The 2004 ALCS will forever be remembered by Curt Schilling's bloody sock. The 2009 Olympiad will forever be remembered by my bloody toe...

Held in Olympia, Greece, the site of the original Olympic Games in 776 BC, we arrived Monday afternoon and after settling in at the beautiful Hotel Antonios (I think that's how it was spelled) we went into the town of Olympia to grab a quick bite to eat before heading off to the archaeological site. In town, I got my first real Greek meal of the trip and had a terrific Greek salad, except for in Greece, the Greek salads contain no lettuce, but merely of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, and feta cheese. It was absolutely great, I would call it a pleasant surprise. After eating, I found the greatest shirt of the trip as it has a Spartan helmet on it and the words below, those that I live by, "THIS IS SPARTA!" And I was so happy to find it that words cannot explain. We've quickly found that Greece is the least expensive destination point on our trip (thank God) and not soon enough as by this time our funds are all starting to become depleted.

Next up was the Mecca of Olympic sites, the place that started them all in 776 BC: the site at Olympia. Robert Pitt, Assistant Director of British Archaeology in Greece, led us around the site explaining the ins and outs of the site, and what each things once used to be and how it pertained to the Ancient Olympic games. We started at the original Temple of Zeus, later to be renamed the Temple of Hera after another temple was built to honor Zeus. We learned that this place, in addition to honoring the Gods, was a place of storage of wealth and almost like a treasury. Just outside this is also the location where the Olympic torch is lit each year before the Olympics before it leaves around the globe. The events that took place afterwards, I'll get to that in a moment. Our last few stops at the site included the Palaestra and the Gymnasium, 2 places used for training and education of the athletes about not only how to perform in the games, but general education as well learning grammar, religion, and other important things while also learning how to ready themselves for competition in the games.

Now, the main event. In the Ancient Olympics, the games were based around one main event, known as the Stade, which consisted of a sprint down the stadium floor of about 200 meters. Being the boys that we are, we decided that we needed to see who would be the champion of the class and have the games named after them as they did during ancient times. A few of us were not properly equipped with running footwear at the time and decided to run the games barefoot, just like the ancients did. The sad part is that the 2 people who came in first and second were both not wearing shoes and were able to beat all those that did. And being one of those without footwear, getting a stone stuck in the underside of my big toe, I emerged victorious from the race, and the games of this day will forever be known as the 2009 Olympia of BPYAN (Brian in Greek). Have no fear, the toe is in fine condition, and I will be ready to defend my crown and my name in 2013 to become the first ever Olympic Odyssey back-to-back Champion. Only one more day left to enjoy the Greek food and lifestyle, and our Eurotrip altogether. And to quote Mark Alken, which I never thought I'd do: Let's go out with a bang.

-One last time

-Ya boy

-I love Europe like for rizzay

-Lets get it

-Call me da champ like Nike but I run wit no shoes

-BMey