The U.S. Olympic Committee on Friday released comments from athletes who took part in Friday night's opening ceremony for the Beijing Games. Here are some of the athletes' impressions.

Brian Olson (Judo)

“It was awesome. A lot different from the other ones. I was very impressed. I didn’t get to see the first part because we were in the holding tank, but for me, being the vet, seeing the new guys’ faces when we were walking out of the chute and into the stadium for the first time was awesome. This Olympics has gone above and beyond. It was special, whether it’s your fourth or first.”

Taylor Takata (Judo)

“I think the best part of the ceremony itself was when the guy was flying around and lighting the torch. When he was going around over the crowd it was awesome, but the real best part was meeting all the other athletes and taking pictures with everybody.”

Valerie Gotay (Judo)

“Being with all the athletes was cool. That was the biggest thrill. Coming out of the tunnel and everybody chanting “USA!” and doing our walk with the U.S. delegation. That was memorable. Unforgettable. Motivating.”

Erin Blanchard (Trampoline)

“It was amazing. I had goosebumps the whole way around. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me. There were so many people there, and I don’t think that I’ve ever seen that many people in one place before. The lighting of the torch was absolutely breathtaking.”

Jean Lopez (Taekwondo)

“It was awesome. The way they lit the torch was amazing. It's always the most anticipated part of the opening ceremonies and I was in complete awe. Beijing has delivered a great start to the Games.”

Charlotte Craig (Taekwondo)

“It was amazing, more than what I expected. I had a great time. My heart was racing when we walked into the stadium with all the people cheering. And I got to walk in next to LeBron James and all the basketball players. It was great to be next to them and next to the Lopez family as we marched in together.”

Michael Blatchford (Cycling)

“It was mind boggling to walk out to 90,000 cheering people while chanting USA with all the other U.S. Olympians and representing your country.”

Sadam Ali (Boxing)

“It was reaaly nice, it was inspirational. It made me want to compete. Standing with the whole U.S. team made me feel really good.”

Demetrius Andrade (Boxing)

“It was once in a lifetime. It was crazy, I loved it. I was speechless at times. It was wonderful. I really liked the torch and the guy flying through the air.”

Adam Duvendeck (Cycling)

“We were expecting something big and they definitely delivered. The torch lighting was awesome. It definitely stood out in my mind.”

Bobby Lea (Cycling)

“The first few steps into the stadium ... I just felt like the hard work and dedication we put in to get here is what the Olympics are all about. It really drives home that this is the greatest stage for any athlete.”

Photos: President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush wave to U.S. athletes during the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the Bird's Nest. Credit: Alexander Hassenstein / Bongarts / Getty Images. Insert: Erin Blanchard. Credit: USOC

BEIJING -- The contrast couldn't have been starker.

When the U.S. basketball team's interview session ended in conference room 1 at the media center in Beijing on Friday afternoon, there were still hundreds of reporters from all over the world in their seats, listening to simultaneous translations in eight languages.

When the U.S. taekwondo team met the media in the same room moments later, you could almost count on two hands the number of reporters who remained. And there's no comparison when it comes to the Olympic track record of the two teams either, since taekwondo's Steven Lopez comes into the Olympics having won twice as many gold medals by himself (two) as the members of the U.S. basketball team have combined (one).

Which isn't to say the U.S. taekwondo team has been ignored here. When it arrived in Beijing on Thursday, it was met by camera crews at the airport, partly owing to Steven's pursuit of a third consecutive Olympic title and partly owing to the fact that this time his younger brother Mark and sister Diane are competing as well, making them the first three siblings to compete in the same discipline for a U.S. Olympic team since 1904. What's more, they'll all be competing under the direction of oldest brother Jean, the Olympic coach.

"They're my family, and they're my teammates," Steven Lopez said. "So when I go into [the competition] it's almost unfair because it's four against one."

Make that five. Unofficially the Lopez family has grown by one for these Games with the addition of 17-year-old women's flyweight competitor Charlotte Craig of Murrieta.

"They've taken me in as their family, basically," said Craig, who spent two months living with Mark Lopez and his fiance Dagmar in Texas during the lead-up to the Olympics. "We joke around saying that I'm the adopted Lopez. And I'm just grateful to be on the team with them. I really look up to all of them."

Truth be told, given Craig's difficultly qualifying for the Beijing competition, she'd probably be grateful to be on the team no matter who came with her. A senior nationals champion as a 14-year-old, Craig was a late replacement for five-time U.S. champion Mandy Meloon in the finweight class at last year's world championships in China, where she surprised by winning a bronze medal

Then last April, two months after her 17th birthday, she qualified for the Olympics by winning at the U.S. trials in Des Moines.

"It surprised me," she admitted in a voice no louder than a whisper. "I knew it was going to be hard to qualify for the U.S. for the Olympics. And when I did, I was in shock. It doesn't still real."

Nor did the chance to model, on national TV, the Ralph Lauren outfits selected for the U.S. Olympians for Friday's opening ceremony.

"I was a bit nervous," she said. "But I had lots of fun. I really enjoyed it."

Which is what she hopes to do with her first Olympic competition as well.

"I'm not intimidated at all," said Craig, who trains in Laguna Niguel. "Having Steven on the team, since he's been to the Olympics twice already, I ask him a lot of questions. And basically he just told me I'm fighting the same girls, but just it's going to be on a bigger stage. So I'm taking that advice."

And as for being the fifth Lopez? Well, she's taking that in stride too.

"It doesn't bother me at all," she said. "It's a great thing that there's three siblings and their oldest brother is the Olympic coach. It's helping out our sport."

Adds Jean Lopez: "There isn't a feeling of having a fifth wheel around. It's a testament to the kind of personality and character that she has. She's the right person for this time and the history implications that we have as a family. She's taken everything with good grace."

-- Kevin Baxter

Photo: From the left: Mark, Steven and Diana Lopez. Credit: Pat Sullivan / Associated Press