That hot Centennial Olympic Games summer of ‘96
I was very happy to see Atlanta’s many successes as a FIFA World Cup host city, capped by that semi-final match between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).
Big winners include Atlanta’s downtown and Centennial Olympic Park as the center for national team fan action and gathering place for the thousands who came to the city to watch the match and party. My hometown of Decatur also hosted an incredible series of events and watch parties, featuring live match action, live music, and a wide array of other amenities and attractions.
It remains hard for me to believe 30 summers have passed since Atlanta welcomed the world for the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996. I was blessed to be working at that time for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, as VP of communications and director of marketing for Forward Atlanta, placing me at Ground Zero for all things Olympics. I was in an office on what is now the Marietta Street side of Centennial Olympic Park.
The city of Atlanta, Fulton County, the state of Georgia, and most of the metro Atlanta region, as well as our business and hospitality communities, put aside their long differences and rowed together in one big boat to help the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) deliver the almost entirely privately funded Centennial Olympic Games. I won’t spend this column reciting the long list of lasting legacies our region received from hosting those games, but there is an excellent and newly expanded exhibit I highly recommend at the Atlanta History Center that covers that all incredibly well.
The chamber held daily press briefings on that rooftop, to assist and feed positive content to the approximately 15,000 media members attending the games. In addition to local heroes such as Hank Aaron, Ambassador Andrew Young, and Billy Payne, we hosted Coach Bela Karoli and the Magnificent Seven U.S. Gymnastics team the morning after their gold medal win, as well as prior Olympiad giants including Olga Korbut and NBC’s Bob Costas.
Many new products were launched that summer, including Powerade, a Coca-Cola product to challenge Gatorade. Then and now, I preferred the ice blue colored Mountain Berry flavor, at the time it amused me as being the same color as our frequently maligned Olympic mascot, Izzy.
Through a bit of badge counterfeiting and with the unknowing help of a prominent Atlanta Organizing Committee corporate executive, I had gained daily access to the IOC Sponsor Hospitality Village.
The food and drink options were incredible 24/7, and literal royalty, many of whom were IOC board members, dined there each day. One morning of a particularly long day, prior to the July 27 bombing when many things took on a more somber tone, I was starting the day with a flute of Cristal champagne and blue Powerade. I jokingly told the bartender that the concoction should be called “Izzy’s Blood.” About halfway through that flute, a beautiful young lady appeared next to me at the bar, inquiring about my blue mimosa. I shared the contents, and the benefits of loading electrolytes on a hot summer day.
She ordered a large round of Izzy’s Blood for her table, which was the royal family of Sweden, whose national and royal colors are, of course, white and royal blue. As it turned out, she was a personal secretary to Princess Victoria, and when I returned to the tent a couple of mornings later, the royal family were all well ahead of me, on round two of Izzy’s Blood.
I was introduced to King Carl Gustaf, now Sweden’s longest-reigning sovereign, as well as his family. By Swedish law passed in 1980, the first born is heir apparent, making Crown Princess Victoria the next sovereign of Sweden. Her hand maiden and I kept in touch for a while. I was later told that Izzy’s Blood became all the rage of the Royal Court at summer events in Sweden with the royal family. Someday I will need to reach out to the Coca-Cola bottler in Sweden and explain where their fascination came from.
Cheers to that hot, crazy summer, and even to Izzy!
