The Most Exciting Olympic Event to Watch in Person: Beach Volleyball

FanHouse blogger Enrico Campitelli Jr. is on the scene in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

Americans Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won themselves a gold medal on Friday by beating Brazil on the hot sand in Beijing. If you ever get the chance to attend a summer Olympics event in person, beach volleyball is the way to go.

Having seen a riveting performance of rhythmic gymnastics a day earlier, the gold medal match of men's beach volleyball was absolutely the most exciting event I've attended at the 2008 Olympics thus far. Not only is there high flying spikes, slams, blocks, and digs, but there is cheesy rock and roll in between plays.

Oh, and cheerleaders in bikinis.
The U.S. duo started out slow and found themselves down a few points early in the first but battled back to win the first set after three or four set points. The drama was intense and the venue had a nice split of American and Brazilian supporters with the U.S. having a slight edge in rowdiness.

Brazil fought back to win the second set and push the chance to take home gold to a third and final set.

Phil Dalhausser came out blazing in the third and there was never really much doubt that this was the United States' day at the beach.

"Obviously, Phil wanted this medal pretty dang bad. He was just ridiculous out there," Rogers said. "When he gets on a roll, I just pull out my pompons and give a little cheer and keep smiling and clapping. That's what good blockers do: When they get on a roll, good luck to you."

"I got in a zone, I guess," Dalhausser said. "I blocked it all out. It's just one of those things where you see everything perfectly and it all seems to be in slow motion."

With events like rhythmic gymnastics, shooting, or even athletics, beach volleyball stands out as a well produced, exciting atmosphere where the crowd can really get loud and into the match. Having gotten the chance to watch USA basketball destroy Germany, I'd take this exciting beach volleyball gold medal match over the Redeem Team.

Olympic Moment:
After the medal ceremony, Todd Rogers jumped into the stands to find what looked to be his parents and/or grandparents. It was pretty awesome seeing the emotion beam from all of their faces.

Many Americans, like myself, can be pretty cynical when it comes to cheering on our nation, but when you find yourself watching two guys like Rogers and Dalhausser trying to bring home the gold, I bet you'd be wishing you were sporting some Team USA gear to show your support. I know I was.