From the Editor
Some places just have magic. And, though location is important, sometimes it’s the events that occur in a place that make it memorable and thrilling: for example, the excitement surrounding a big game, like the New York Giants’ underdog Super Bowl win in Phoenix this past February.
August is the ultimate sports lover’s month, with rival teams matching skills seemingly on every corner sandlot. The corner we decided to visit this month happened to be in Milan (Been There), but the high spirits, camaraderie, and momentous sense that anything can happen are the same the world over. Seeing Milan swept up in the rivalry, cheers, tension, and celebration, writer Greg Lalas found the moments leading up to the big match between AC Milan and Internazionale as intriguing as the match itself.
Of course, we haven’t forgotten that the world’s biggest sporting event is taking place this very month, in Beijing. The Guide provides a helpful cheat sheet on the Summer Olympics — covering not only the athletic contests, but also fun trivia like the top speed of a table tennis ball and the number of gigantic blue bubbles on the Water Cube, the newly built Olympic swimming venue. If all these facts and figures get you daydreaming about what it would be like to mix high-level athletic training with a career, you can find out here. In our Idea Makers section, we talk with All-American rower Brett Sickler about her coast-to-coast life, training in San Diego and working as an analyst for Johnson & Johnson’s Olympic marketing group in the company’s New Brunswick, N.J., headquarters.
August’s days are long, but the summer is short, so plan to do a little exploring this month — even if you aren’t traveling all the way to China or Europe. There are summer music programs galore (the famed Harlem Week in New York, and Cleveland’s summerlong Blossom Music festival in Cuyahoga Valley National Park to name two), museums with wonderful exhibits (see a few suggestions here), and discoveries to be made just strolling on a summer weekend (including an outdoor sculpture exhibit in the New York Botanical Garden).
Steal away for an afternoon or a weekend, grab some ice cream, cheer for your favorite team, and, as the best of the summer unfolds, we wish you great adventures and good reading.
Gail Harrington, Editor
Contributor
Regular contributor Brion O’Connor reports that speaking with Lindsay Davenport for his Idea Makers profile was a delight. “Lindsay carries herself with such class, dignity, and honesty,” he says. “It’s not surprising that those qualities have made her a fan favorite.” Brion has also written for such publications as Men’s Journal, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN the Magazine.
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