They were discouraged on the early morning of September 24 1993, when the final result of 2000 Olympic host city rolled off the lips of Juan Antonio Samaranch, then President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). China's first bidding for hosting the Olympics failed with a narrow disadvantage of just two votes less.
They anxiously waited on Beijing's Tian'anmen Square at the summer night of July 13 2000, again for the gray-haired IOC President to answer the second knock of world's most populous nation at the Olympic gate. The crowd broke into hilarious celebration at the good news, and pictures of ecstatic people carrying national flags stormed front page of almost all newspapers' extra editions.
In 1908, the Tianjin Youth magazine posed three questions to all Chinese people: When will China send athletes go to the Olympics? When will Chinese athletes win a gold medal? When will China bring the Olympic Games to its own soil?
A hundred years later, when the spectacular opening ceremony was held in the "bird nest", the last one of the three questions was answered.
But that's not enough.
Did we remember to give applause not only to those who made their names on the global arena, but those who dreamed and tried, although finally failed? Maybe they couldn't leave any traces on the long scroll of sports history, but their sweat, their tears and their shouts also deserve our utmost respect.
Could we carry on the good habits we developed before the Olympics -- saving energy, protecting environment, be polite, no queue-jumping...Olympics is the carnival of ourselves, and these efforts should be done not as showing off, but for our own sake.
Don't forget the lesson we learnt from overseas torch relay. Different voices still exist given China's hiking economy and rising International status. But may the spirit of Olympic remind us all the time to let peace and friendship prevail.
Always remember the charity journey of Olympic flame after the massive earthquake, remember the smile of the boy saved from quake debris who appeared at the opening ceremony. Even after the flame of Beijing Olympics extinguished, the love it brought forth should be passed on.
The Olympic dream has been carried by generations of Chinese. It survived hardships and despair.
The Beijing Olympics may be a climax.
But after that, it should also live on.
(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)