"I was one of two non-sports reporters sent to Clark's Bridge Park every day during the games, covering such things as who got arrested, who fell in the lake because of the heat and whether any of these finely-toned rowers actually visited the McDonald's inexplicably set up in the athlete's village. But I also got to see the Dutch with their eye-searingly bright orange shirts and inflatable cows, the Norwegians and their Viking helmets, the Germans, the French and the Brits. My favorite moment was while I was walking around the VIP area, a huge bearded guy stepped in front of me and, in a deep Russian voice, commanded while pointing at my baseball cap glinting of pins, ‘We trade.' I do believe I got taken advantage of in the transaction. But that was the Atlanta Olympics - the willingness to undergo some small hardship for the ability to say you participated in one of the great traditions of modern civilization."
— David Twiddy, former Times reporter
"I remember a lot of things - planning a wedding at the same time, a grumpy sports editor, getting up at 5 a.m. after the bombing. But I think the best memory of the Games for me was the energy that surrounded the event. There was so much excitement when Atlanta was announced as host, and that really didn't seem to fade throughout the planning process. The excitement from the local community, the volunteers, the fans - it was awesome to literally feel that energy all over the venue, for that matter, all over Gainesville. For those couple of years, I think all of Gainesville felt like a global community, and we all welcomed the opportunity to host the world."
— Tiffany Townsend Fessler, former Times sports writer
"My most vivid memory is of the night of the Centennial Park bombing. It had already been a long day and night, and I had just got back home and in bed when Druck (John Druckenmiller) called about the bombing. We rousted enough other hands out to update that edition to include the bombing story. It was a hectic time. Overall, all the preparations and planning and advance sections, etc., it was hard work but fun covering such a big story that had landed in our laps. ... We had some Norwegian friends here for the Olympics, and they stayed with us. While I didn't get to be with them much, it was exciting to see how much they enjoyed them and how they managed to get around to all the events here, Atlanta and elsewhere. They had a blast, and we enjoyed them very much."
— Johnny Vardeman, former Times editor
"The most vivid memory: the entire Olympic mission on Lake Lanier: Helping both our staff and our community learn all about Olympic rowing and canoe-kayaking. One newsroom jokester, recalling the region's affinity for motorsports, suggested we urge the Olympic Committee to put numbers and ads on the sides of the watercraft. By this time 15 years ago, Northeast Georgia was ready to row for the gold. The community provided a gracious setting for our Olympic visitors; the newsroom had its finest hours (yes, with an "s")."
— John Druckenmiller, former Times managing editor
"My biggest memory from the Olympics was seeing English rower Steve Redgrave winning a gold medal in his fourth straight Olympics. He won a fifth in 2000 at age 38 which is pretty incredible. I remember Steve's dad telling me how much pressure was on Steve back home to win gold. It has always impressed me when an athlete excels in a pressure situation. It was watching an elite athlete shine at the highest level."
— Jeff Butler, former Times sports writer
"I've been around a lot of big stories since then but I always tell people I work with the chance to be involved in covering an Olympics, and just being around it, was a once in a lifetime experience. I actually filled in for Keith (Albertson) on the sports desk for much of the actual Games. Charlie Jones from NBC called the sports desk one afternoon wanting to know how he could get a paper delivered to his hotel. At that point I figured we were doing something right."
— Rob Joesbury, former Times copy editor and sports editor
"Many Gainesville residents were asleep when a bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park during the early morning hours of July 27, 1996. Many who were first learned of the news a few hours later, when they retrieved that morning's edition of The Times from their driveways. I found myself at Ivey-Watson Field the next evening, covering an American Legion baseball playoff game. The bombing was the topic of conversation, and countless people told me their first notification of the tragic events in Atlanta came from the front page of their local newspaper as the sun rose that Saturday morning."
— Bud Ellis, sports intern during the Olympics, later a Times sports writer
"Three things stand out: 1. When the torch got handed to Muhammed Ali. I really did feel chills, and it's one of the few times I've heard a newsroom full of jaded people erupt. 2. (Wife) Jane and I went to a couple of soccer matches at Sanford Stadium. The atmosphere was electric, but I couldn't get used to seeing the field without the hedges. 3. The bomb. I was driving home from work and heard about it on the radio. It was a really intense feeling to know a bomb went off but not know anything else about it. Were people dead? How many? Were the venues destroyed? So many questions and no answers."
— Vann Trotter, former Times copy editor
"The 1996 Olympics always have a special meaning to me, because as a native Georgian, it was sort of unreal to see the entire sports world coming to the place I call home. ... My favorite memory is attending a baseball game between Japan and South Korea at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Fans from both countries were extremely excited: beating balloons together to make noise, using horns to lead songs, and singing throughout the game. I thought, "Wow. I watch baseball to watch a more laid-back sport. The only time I see fans this excited is at college football games. What would these fans do at a college football game?" I realize now that this is their culture, but I was surprised by it."
— Mark Kelly, former Times copy editor