The Oakland and the Bay Area has been celebrating Alysa Liu and her Olympic Gold. I’m based in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I was fortunate enough to attend the Alysa Liu pre-Celebration Rally press conference and Alysa Liu Celebration Rally on a beautiful and sunny Thursday afternoon.
Pre-Celebration Press Conference.
The press conference started around 11:00 AM at Oakland City Hall. It was packed with media.
In attendance were were Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, Alysa Liu and her coach & choreographer Massimo Scali and Phillip DiGuglielmo are pictured below:
90% of the questions went to Alysa. Alysa seems very down-to-earth in person and kind of reminded me of a former colleague of mine – very casual. I’ve heard many of the questions before, including one about the controversy regarding fellow Olympian and San Francisco Bay Area native Eileen Gu representing China in the Winter Olympics (12:45 in our video above). The press conference itself last about 25 minutes.
At the Rally
Prior to the rally getting started, I was able to spot Alysa’s dad in the crowd as the press section was right behind the VIP section:
The whole celebration rally had a ton of Oakland and Bay Area luminaries speaking or performing at the celebration rally starting around noon under the cloudless blazing sun, which was televised and streamed live for the 1.5+ hours, including by NBC Bay Area:
The Rally Itself
First, the Fremont High School Drumline welcomed the crowd:
Then Master of Ceremonies Sway (Sway Calloway, Oakland born radio and television host and journalist) greeted the crowd and introduced 16 year old Abayomi Lewis, an Oakland School for the Arts (where Alysa had briefly attended) student and current season 24 American Idol contestant. She sang MacArthur Park, the song Alysa skated to when she won her Olympic medal:
Next, local Congresswoman Lateefah Simon made some remarks on the pride Alysa has brought to Oakland and the inspiration she provides to young people.
Afterward, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee welcomed everyone. She recognized Alysa’s historic Olympic achievement and finally introduced Alysa to the crowd. Alysa showed her two gold medals, and Lee then formally presented the key to the city to Alysa.
Alysa Addresses the Rally
She talked about growing up and living in Oakland all of her life, skating at the rink nearby, and how proud she was to represent Oakland on the Olympic stage. Alysa truly has a love for the city. You saw it throughout her time at the Olympics and certainly at the celebration rally:
More Performances and Speeches by Local Artists
After the presentation of the Oakland city key, there was a cultural performance by U.S. Shaolin Kung Fu with a traditional lion dance honoring Alysa and Oakland’s vibrant Asian American community.
Then Lina Nguyen, a Skyline High School senior and leader with the All-City Council Student Union shared her reflections on how Alysa’s journey inspired her and other Oakland youth:
Then there were some introductions of some Oakland native rappers, including G-Eazy and P-Lo:
and “another” Oakland School of the Arts (OAS) alumni (like Alysa – who attended that high school before having to be home schooled due to her training schedule), Jwalt:
Oakland’s TURFinc Dancers put on a talented and terrific performance, with some kids and an elderly looking gentleman showing off some moves:
Then Oakland’s sociopolitical comedian W. Kamau Bell made some brief remarks – reinforcing that Oakland is the “greatest city in the world” and talked about building up the community:
Other Bay Area Sports Figures Send their Congrats via Video
Some notable sports figures s who couldn’t make the event today sent messages via recorded video, such as including Bay Area native and 3-time Olympic figure-skater gold medalist Brian Boitano, Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr and Golden State Warriors super star, Stephen Curry:
The president of the Golden State Valkyries, Jess Smith, said some words of congratulations and presented Alysa some personalized Valkyries gear:
Tribute from Other Bay Area Gold Medalists
Fellow ice skater, Gold medalist, and Bay Area native, Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi, expressed her congratulations. She talked about what she admired about Alysa and how Alysa stands out in her attitude and demonstrates genuine sportsmanship and comradery with her fellow competitors. Greatness is not just in getting medals, but character, respect, and the love for the sport.
Terrific words of admiration given what a trailblazer Yamaguchi has been. I am sure that Yamaguchi helped inspired fellow Asian American skaters like Bay Area native Olympian Karen Chen as well as beloved Olympian Michelle Kwan.
The next speaker was a native Oakland Olympian that I was not familiar with. Andre Ward, Oakland’s undefeated world champion boxer and Olympic gold medalist in 2004 (Athens) talked about how he admired how Alysa had the courage to take time off and then come back to win World’s and two Olympic medals:
More Speakers, Gifts, and Q&A
The next speaker was Oakland Roots Director of Community Engagement, Nelda Kerr, gave some brief words of congratulations and a custom jersey:
Next up was Oakland Ballers CEO, Paul Freedman, giving Alysa a community championship ring and Ballers jacket:
Sway brought Alysa back on stage to answer some questions that some of her fans had – answering questions about herself and her connection to and love for Oakland.
Alysa Liu’s Favorite Oakland Artist
The final question to Alysa, was who was her favorite Oakland artist, and Alysa answered: Kehlani! The two-time Grammy winner, Oakland artist, and Oakland School of the Arts alumna, closed out the celebration rally with a performance.
After the performance, Alysa, the mayor and others, joined on the performance stage for photos:
Conclusions
Despite the number of speakers, the event in person went by fairly quickly. I did see some comments here and there that some had wished that Alysa had spoken more. But from what I read, Alysa really didn’t want a parade or have the event be just about her.
The whole event was not only a celebration of Alysa Liu but a celebration of Oakland. Oakland has received much negative press in the past: crime, corruption, as well as the Golden State Warriors leaving for San Francisco, the Oakland Raiders and Oakland A’s leaving the area. One can understand the desire to celebrate some success. The celebration rally really made me think about what Oakland has brought to the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. How lucky we are to have so much talent and resources in the region – including our newly minted Olympian Alysa Liu!
All photos and videos (except the video by NBC Bay Area) courtesy of 8Asians.com – all rights reserved.
