US Men's Gymnastics - Beijing [me against the world]

A reflection on the great performance of the US Men's Team in the Team Final at the Beijing Olympics, 2008. (Not all footage is from those games: much comes from the Olympic Trials.)

"I've gotta prove them wrong" - Raj Bhavsar (the Indian). Despite good Trials, he missed the team in both 04 and 08. When the Hamm brothers dropped out due to injury, his status as an alternate got him on the team itself to perform. He capitalized on the opportunity to perform solidly for the US in the all around final.

"I'm a lost cause -- not a hero" -- Sasha Artemev (the Russian). Known for his unbelievable pommel horse routine, Sasha missed out on making the US team by flubbing 3 out of 4 of his performances on the PH in the past year [lost cause]. When the Hamm brothers dropped out, he was the second alternate who got onto the team. His place in the all around was a single event: the last US man to perform on the last apparatus... the pommel horse. A stellar routine by him clinched the US's bronze medal above the next contender, Germany [hero].

"We'll never be like them" -- Jonathan Horton. The Hamm brothers were the anchoring center of the US team. With both of them out, there was a serious question whether the US men could even medal. In their absence, he became the rock center of the routine, nailing tricks and sticking landings in his 5 events in the men's all around, the momentum builder for the team that let them ride the wave of good results.

"I'm a nightmare -- a disaster -- that's what they always said" -- the team as a whole (Raj Bhavsar, Sasha Artemev, Jonathan Horton, Joey Hagerty, Justin Spring, Kevin Tan). Missing their star performers, it would take a great night for the US to even think about medaling. Yet despite everything that was said about their chances, they pulled through for a bronze that felt like gold.

Those of you who missed it, MISSED it.

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[StepMonster]

Awesome video!  Bravo!