- - Tuesday, April 13, 2004 AAO: A look back at this wild ride Don't quite know how I slipped into this reminiscent state, but seeing Apolo on Cold Pizza today just prompted me to look through the old OZ archives. Man, what amazing times those were. The OZ was like a rollercoaster that just kept going faster and faster, with new info, art work, stories, photos, coming in by the second. It was All Apolo TV on the net, and ya know what? It was incredible. I think the main reason I'm thinking back is because I just realized almost exactly 2 years ago today Todd posted my first Apolo art piece on OZ. Rofl, I recall that he initially posted it "new fan art from Alice", which just proved that the volume of AAO crap was coming in truckloads. My God, has it been that long? I look through those mounds of archives and just get all teary eyed, remembering how much OhnoZone was an Apolo Fan Community team effort, and how many hours we all spend with our fingers clicking the "search: Apolo Anton Ohno" button til our hands were numb. That's what made it great, plain and simple. I know that I got a kick out of reading Todd's reactions to us nutty girls commenting and drooling. It had just enough info/news/results with a dash of teeny-bopper madness. I mean, I wasn't THAT young when this all started, I'm a grown-ass woman who knows what she'll sucome to, but the OhnoZone had you in a zone no matter what age you were. From crazy cartoon sketches and funky AAO Wallpaper, to the shear joy of discovering someone finding even the most meaningless bit of Apolo info. If it was an article on how he eats his eggs in the morning, we were on it. Those never ending nights of chatting and forum posting that had us falling asleep at the keyboard and dying to fly through the front door after work to get your "fix". Everyone working together to build an online gallery from which to learn more about this 19 year old speedskater that grabbed ahold of our hearts, and hasn't let go since. I loved the creative ways people would show just how far their "ohno-mania" went, through fun computer graphics, cheesy poems, and of course, good old fashion swooning. I ain't gonna lie. I miss it. Sure, Apolo Fans have evolved from "ohmigod, he's so hot, who is he?" to knowing more about him and learning what an truly remarkable guy (and sport) we've come to adore. I can only speak for myself, but first meeting Apolo almost had me in the emergency room, lol. My first glance at him in person [Feb 2003] resulted in a loss of feeling in my head, and even worse was being introduced to him...I attempted to keep the outward calm and cool, while I literally had to lock my knees to keep me from hitting the floor. Yes, that same "I think I'm gonna puke" feeling doesn't come over me when I approach him now. But no doubt, the mini-butterflies have never left, and each time I look in his eyes I have to coach myself under my breath, "Ape, don't stare. For the love of GOD, don't stare!" Through the years, Apolo's become more and more...human. Just an ordinary guy with extremely extraordinary talent. I was so proud when the day I finally got the courage to just greet Apolo with a casual, "Hey, what's up?". However, looking at old pictures, tapes, and remembering Salt Lake 2002 will always bring me back to square one - I admire this guy. When it comes to the physical, he makes my pulse skyrocket, but it's his drive - his energy - his passion for this sport that truly makes him sexy. I know that talking with Todd in Cleveland prompted me to get nostalgic, too. I always greet him with the same praise: "You know you put my Apolo art on the map, Todd!". So yeah, buddy, I owe ya. Big time. Countless fun memories, knowing that it was ok to be a little selfish when it came to wanting OZ to be all about the fans. Just knowing that come 2006, Apolo Ohno will take the Olympic stage again...and he'll look out in the sea of love and support and see familiar faces looking back. Best of all, it's never really about website archives, but it's about the archives in here *points to heart*

posted by April @ 2:30 AM 0 Comments: Post a Comment << Home