Stoli with a twist...

Whew! The Sochi Olympics are history now and we got through the Games without a major incident. Unfortunately, the terrorists made their impact and kept a lot of international visitors away. The construction is still going on around the city and it is expected to continue for some time. But in spite of the many drawbacks, at the end of the Games, the sun was shining.

The best news is that in the final days the Russian organizers heeded our advisory committee's urging and focused on the athletes. The Olympic Park was a fortress and security was at the highest level possible. Once inside, you were about as safe as you could be in these circumstances.The crowds in the final days were mostly nearby Russian visitors and they had much to cheer about.  The athletes all received excellent benefits from their community hosts and the organizing committee. There was little they weren't afforded and it showed. Ultimately, it's the athletes who are the test. If they're happy then everyone feels good.

So our group suggested a twist for the closing ceremonies. I could say "spin" but there are bad connotations to that term in the PR world. The Games needed a positive close after a very rough start so we suggested to our Russian Olympic friends that they should carefully craft any statements about the success of the Games that were made publicly by the officials. We call them "qualifiers"...by adding or excluding words that keep you from overstating the situation.

Because of the clear athlete focus I just mentioned, "These were the athletes' games" became our key message for the closing. We were confident that the athletes would back up that statement. And as far as the event itself was concerned "Russia delivered what all it had promised" was the strongest claim we could make because you can argue for a long time about what those promises were and who made them. But there's no doubt that the Russians pulled it off.

The head of the local organizing committee Dmitry Chernyshenko and IOC President Thomas Bach reinforced those messages in their very calculated remarks at the closing ceremony. Chernyschenko is a native of Sochi and was very emotional about the transformation of his city from a barren field to an awesome Olympic Park by the sea in seven years. That shows a human side of the Russian personality that is not always out front. Russia and its leaders still have lots to prove on the world stage but on the sports field, they've gained our respect...right down to their medal count win, which they deserve.

With over 3,000 journalists in attendance, no stone could really go unturned. And there was a faction that wanted the Russians to fail. There were plenty of rocks being thrown during the entire process, from the construction problems ahead of time to security, cell phones, protests and even the weather. All in all though, the Games were well played. Even if their president went to any length necessary to make sure these Games happened there, the Russian people had much to be proud of and I am pleased to say that my committee helped them express that to the world.

Work on my 11th Olympic outing was really a roller coaster ride. From a very tense and confused beginning to an exciting celebratory finish, every day we encountered new and challenging situations. Coming up with answers and suggestions in front of my new computer on Skype made me feel a bit like a local reporter giving updates on the devastating east coast storms from the "news center" just 15 feet away from the anchor desk. But thanks to this new world of communications we live in, I was there.

Playing even a minor role in the messaging for this Olympics makes me proud.  I'm wearing my Sochi ball cap now but I'm told there is a Ushanka (one of those black furry Russian hats)on its way to me that I will cherish and promise to wear when it snows. Having this edition of the global games be a safe one was a very heart-warming experience. Now for that ice-cold Stoli...with a twist.