Olympics
Seattle-area Greeks proudly display support

By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Yiannis Tziotis fought hard to contain his emotion as tears welled in his eyes and beads of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

He is Greek, he says proudly, and his country "has done a tremendous thing."

The Olympics returned to the tiny Mediterranean nation after a 108-year absence, and if the opening ceremony is any indication, then the next two weeks will be a wondrous celebration for the little country that defied the odds.

As a boy growing up in Athens, Tziotis, who migrated to the United States in 1967, played in a field where the Olympic Stadium now stands. He wishes he were there, but the next-best thing to being at the Games, he said, is watching them in Seattle on a jumbo television screen surrounded by family and friends who share his Hellenic pride.

"I'm flying so high up in the sky right now, that is where my spirit is, soaring and going higher and higher," said Tziotis, who helped organize a gathering of 300 people at the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church community center on Friday night.

He is president of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), which sponsored the party that started at 7 p.m. and ended past midnight.

Much like the opening ceremony, the event went off without a hitch, and organizers are considering hosting a similar party for the closing ceremony.

Local restaurants donated food and drinks, which allowed partygoers, who wore blue and white T-shirts and waived Greek flags, to dine on a menu that included dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves), feta cheese, rice, shrimp, kalamata olives and Greek wine.

Inside the ballroom at the community center, folks sang the Greek national anthem and cheered when athletes from the United States and Greece were introduced.

"As I watch this, I'm extremely proud," said Brian Bass, a Lynnwood accountant who was master of ceremonies. "Greece was really behind the 8-ball. The chance that these Games will cost $12 billion. That's a huge amount for a country the size of Greece.
 
"Greeks have a strong tradition of procrastination kind of like island time. It's Greek time. To be able to see them pull this off gives me a tremendous amount of pride, because in my heart I knew they would."

Still, there was some consternation in the crowd about a potential doping scandal involving Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou.

Both are in danger of missing the Games after being accused of evading a drug test and being hospitalized with minor injuries after a motorcycle wreck.

"That's definitely sad, and the timing of it all is very unfortunate," Bass said. "But in the end, it's not really about the athletes. It's about the Games. This is Greece's chance to show that a small country can be brave, can be disciplined and find it within themselves to host the world."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com