Realizing my Olympic Dreams in Boston

So, you’re probably watching those Olympic gymnists and thinking, “Damnnn, I wish I could do that. But now I’m way too old to get my body moving like that. Too bad.” Well, you’re wrong! Absolutely wrong!

You probably aren’t aware of a little place called Jamnastics, located in Cambridge. Jamnastics will tell you it’s never too late to learn gymnastics (or hip hop for that matter!). They actually have completely awesome look classes tailored just for adults. So no more excused for you. Learn to tumble, learn to balance, and learn to flip…no matter what your age is!

You can become a member of the Reggie Lewis Center and have access to their indoor track, gym, fitness classes, etc. for a pretty nice price.

Not only can you practice your speed and endurance, you can get buff, learn some skills, and just become more athletic overall. With a name like Reggie Lewis, it’s gotta be good!

I went to Tavern in the Square during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. I had made plans weeks earlier, but now was a little upset I would be missing the ceremonies. But when I got to the Tavern in the Square, they had the Olympic ceremonies on all of their TVs! YES!

Of course they didn’t have sound, but it was still pretty cool to actually get to watch and see all the athletes walking in the ceremony. And it was crazy how many people were actually just staring intently at the TVs while hanging out with their friends and having a couple beers. Huge points for the Tavern!

Clery’s is another winner of a bar. I went there with Sara on Saturday night and we were a bit dismayed to find that the Red Sox were playing on every TV. I love the Sox, but with so many TVs, couldn’t one be spared for the Olympics??

So we nicely asked the bartender to change the channel on one of the TVs. He wasn’t sure that he could, but finally did it for us. Some of the men around us laughed because Sara and I were intent on seeing the men gymnasts. But before long, everyone in our room at Clery’s was watching the Olympics instead of the Sox. And we all got to experience Michael Phelps first gold medal of the games and world-record winning swim! Everyone was cheering and clapping and it just felt so amazing.

All thanks to Sara and me. And the awesomeness of Clery’s.

Or maybe you don’t really need to train right now, but you do want to work on sunning your bathing suit body. After all, if you’re going to be a swimmer, you need to look like one, right? So head over to the Colonnade Hotel’s rooftop pool, where you can spend the day for $30. You won’t see anyone doing laps, but you can sip some sangria if you choose. What? An Olympian wouldn’t do that? Whatev.

Obviously Nike is a huge sponsor of the Olympics. So what better way to support the Olympics than to go shop at Niketown? You can stock up on your Olympic fan gear, or you can buy tons of athletic apparel that will have you feeling like an Olympian without ever having to step onto a field or get your heart rate up.

Niketown on Newbury St. is an Olympic-worthy experience in itself. You could legitimately spend all day in this place. And a whole lotta dough.

Who needs Olympic basketball when we’ve got the Celtics here in Boston?? Wait for the season to start again and head over to the TD Banknorth Garden to catch a game or two. Of course, I have a feeling Celtics tickets might be a bit difficult to come by this year.

But watch the Olympics bball games and try not to be too saddened by the fact there are no Celtics players participating. We already know they’re the best.