By Micah Davis
A tattered and worn American flag known as the Ground Zero flag will be carried in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on Feb. 8, as the official U.S. flag for the Games.
The 12-foot-by-8-foot flag was found at the sight of the World Trade Center the morning of Sept. 11.
After athletes representing all countries have finished the main procession and arrived in the stadium, the 'Star Spangled Banner' will be played while the flag is raised.
'Raising the flag during the U.S. National Anthem was the preferred way to include the flag during the ceremony,' said Anita DeFrantz, senior U.S. IOC member.
'While some parts of the opening ceremony change to reflect the culture of the host city, the procession of athletes is a part of the universal Olympic protocol that has essentially remained unchanged in the modern Olympic era,' DeFrantz said.
While IOC rules bar political acts during the Games, the IOC has made a special exception allowing the flag to be used during the opening ceremony.
The flag also flew over center field at the World Series last fall, and in last Sunday''s Super Bowl.
Aaron Gray, 23, a senior from Edwardsville Ill., majoring in economics, said he believes the experience will arouse a new sense of patriotism among the American people.
'I think it''s going to stir feelings of patriotism within all of us, similar to the feelings that we had on Sept. 11,' Gray said. 'Anything connected with that really touches us all inside.'
With the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games the largest Winter Games ever, spectators from nearly eighty countries will witness the opening ceremony.
'Other nations that are coming to participate in the Games are going to feel unified with us as a country,' Gray said.
Courtney Jones, 20, a junior from Carson City, Nev., majoring in nursing, said she believes there will indeed be a special moment of international unity during the ceremony with the flag present.
'The flag is special and different. It represents what everyone is going through right now,' Jones said.
Jones also emphasized the fact that the Olympics has traditionally been a unifying event in bringing together different cultures and talents. This will augment the symbolism of the flag.
Nearly five months after the events of Sept. 11, the world has gathered to witness the Games and remember the tragedy.
'The Olympic movement around the world has expressed its sympathy for the victims of Sept. 11th in many ways since that tragic day. Showing the flag this respect is just one more way,' DeFrantz said.