May 30, 2007
The 1996 D.C. Olympics
If you've been to the box suites at RFK Stadium, you may have noticed photos of acts that have played the stadium lining the hallway - U2, New Kids on the Block, the Promise Keepers and so on. But after we finished laughing at the New Kids, one plaque off to the side caught our eye: "Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, site of Olympic football, 19 July-4 August 1996." What? The Olympics were at RFK? There was football at the Olympics?
Considering that the Redskins still played at RFK in 1996 and the Olympics were in fact in the United States, we thought that maybe American football was a demonstration sport, like wheelchair racing at the Athens games and cannon shooting (!) at the 1900 games. A little research disproved this idea (plus who would play, the U.S. versus Canada?) and showed that the stadium actually hosted part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic soccer tournament, which we did not know. So D.C. has been an Olympic city, despite the 2012 Washington-Baltimore bid fizzling, due in part to the then-planned Iraq war. The Los Angeles Times even said "Once again, it seems, the foreign policy of the federal city has torpedoed the well-meaning, painstaking efforts of Washington to act like a normal town."
Back to the 1996 Olympics, RFK hosted 6 men's games, including team USA's tie with Portugal. The home team finished 1-1-1 while the surprise gold medalists were Nigeria. Three women's matches were held on site as well, and the American team fared better, taking home the gold, although there was no sports bra jubilation.
Photo by Andrew Wiseman
Of course, this isn't the only time RFK has hosted international soccer competitions. The stadium was the site for a few matches in the 1994 World Cup, although no team USA games, and some in the the 2003 Women's World Cup, as well as various continental cups.
With the stadium's fate uncertain, the Washington-Baltimore bid no more and New York losing out to London for 2012, 1996 may be last time for awhile that the Olympic games visit our nation's capitol. Does anybody have any memories of the '96 games effect on D.C.? Did you see Izzy the Whatizit on the Metro?
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You guys seriously are running out of things to talk about.
The effect on DC seemed to be pretty much nil, from what I could tell. People weren't exactly flocking to DC from all over the world to catch a few random soccer games. I went to the Portugal game. It was fun. They tied. George Michael talked about it a little. That about sums it up.
Apparently the players stayed at Mount Vernon College in the Foxhall neighborhood, which they converted into an Olympic Village for a few weeks. Who knew?
There are also signs directing visitors to the "Olympic stadium" along Constitution and North Carolina; I think they also specify that it is the soccer stadium.
Of course, most people don't see them because they just take Constitution westbound (away from RFK) on their morning commute from Maryland.
Ha! A current events tie-in.
RFK was the site of the most entertaining matches of the 1996 Olympic Soccer Tournament.
Italy / Ghana
Most people (or at least those who are REAL locals, *cough cough*) already knew about this. And to think, a whole paragraph and a half wasted on idiotic ponderings about what American Football matches might have been played there. They really are running out of things to write about.
And for those of us old enough and local enough to remember, the stadium at the Naval Academy hosted several early round games of soccer (football) for the 1984 games which were held in L.A.
I wrote about this because I thought it was interesting, it was an unusual sign and something I hadn't known about the city.
Jim and Phil, thanks for the additional information, I'll have to look for those signs next time I'm in the neighborhood.
During the 1996 Olympics the soccer/football games were spread around southern cities. I saw Mexico play Germany (I think?) and another game in Birmingham. And saw a baseball game in Atlanta. Although I was living in Charlottesville and could easily have come up here, my family was all in Chattanooga at that point and so Birmingham was closer to them. And they bought the tickets. As long as we are throwing around trivia. Other events were spread through out the south too -- rowing was on Lake Lanier near Gainsville, GA, and kayaking was on the Ocoee River East of Chattanooga. They built a whole course for that. The U.S. Rowing team practiced out of a boat house in Chattanooga in preparation for rowing in the heat of a southern summer.
I went to 2 games at RFK, both featuring Portugal. In the first game (which was the first game of the series at RFK) they actually had a small "opening ceremony" on the field. Mayor Barry spoke and said that it would be great to have the entire Olympics in Washington.
Portugal beat Tunisia in the first game. The stadium was packed with Portuguese fans, many of whom were bussed in from NJ and NY. Most of the "nuetral" fans sided with Tunisia because they had a tent set up outside the stadium where they were giving away free t-shirts and tote bags that said "Tunisia on my Mind."
Portugal and the US tied in the second game.
I also remember that some of the teams practiced in College Park.
The whole thing is kind of like the car race in the RFK parking lot they had a few years ago, an odd blip on the sports timeline of DC.
I went to a couple of those games. It was a doubleheader, Norway vs. Japan in the women's game (Norway won something like 5-0), and Mexico vs. Ghana in the men's game, or as we said "Mount Pleasant vs. Adams-Morgan." 1-1 draw, very entertaining game and a great crowd.
That Mexico/Ghana game was nuts. Argentina/Portugal wasn't bad, either.
In '84, I saw France/Qatar and Chile/France in Annapolis...I still can't get that horrible Sergio Mendes "Olympia" theme song out of my head.
It is not like 1996 was last century. Who is writing this blog? Is this supposed to be some news flash of dc history? This posting is indicative of the transient nature of this town.
I have to agree with the previous comments, I love this blog but sometimes the writers of DCist write as if there was no history in this city before they showed up and "discovered" things.
RFK has a good deal of soccer history. I had tickets to that Olympic game, I saw the 1994 World Cup match of Mexico vs. Norway (talk about an ancient rivalry), and have seen several US team friendly matches at RFK. However, the best match hands-down was the 1997 MLS Cup that was at RFK. DC United won on a cold and rainly October day.
And how could you write about Olympic in DC and not mention the awesome curling prowess of the "DC Olympic Team" :)