TOKYO — After 16 days of competition across Tokyo and its surrounding areas, the Olympics have reached a conclusion. On Sunday evening, the Closing Ceremony took place at National Stadium, marking the official end of these pandemic Summer Games. Below, Sports Illustrated's team of writers give their final takeaways from Tokyo.
Kareem Elgazzar/USA TODAY Sports
In the past year and a half, the phrase “imagine if there were fans” has been repeated so often, it feels redundant. Yes, when sports came back after COVID-19 hit, the games felt strange, with cardboard cutouts in the stands and piped-in crowd noise.