Jonathan Greco is a 1997 graduate of Oneonta High who is working as part of the Big Screen Network production team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Greco is writing a daily journal of his experiences at the Games for The Daily Star.

I'm like a bird on this late Monday night, after returning from the Nelly Furtado concert at the Olympic Medals Plaza. The Grammy-nominated singer put on a wonderful show.

I arrived toward the end of the medals ceremonies, passing through about 4,000 security checkpoints along the way. The energy of the event was amazing, so I won't insult the moment with an attempt to put it into words. All I can say is that the place was packed and people were dancing and singing together late into the downtown night.

Monday marked my first trip into the heart of Salt Lake City since arriving two weeks ago. Olympians seem frozen in time on huge murals covering all sides of the city's buildings. One serves as a screen for a movie-like projector, which continually plays clips of the Olympics.

The streets are busy and filled with life but not overcrowded. Like a school of tuna, people walk side by side and move along the streets as teams. They seem to understand that a push forward will only cause confusion and disrupt fellow "fish." Everywhere you turn, there are smiles for camera flashes recording the night.

As always, fireworks shot through the salty skies following the conclusion of the concert. Being there brings an amazing clarity to it all. I've watched many of the shows and ceremonies at the OMP on TV, but a small box in your living room will never bring justice to these amazing acts.

The rock band Creed is on deck, so I probably won't be able to sit still for the day of women's hockey ahead. We have the last two women's games before the gold medal match. If the U.S. pulls out a victory, a gold-medal repeat may be in order. On the other side, Finland takes on a very tough Canadian team, which won a silver in 1998.

The U.S. men thrashed Belarus and, coupled with a Finland victory over Russia, earned the No. 1 seed for today's quarterfinals.

I see a pattern with our boys. The U.S. generally starts out slowly, possibly feeling out its opponents for almost the entire first period. Then we take it to the house in the second period and dominate the rest of the way.

Shortly after, we noticed the fighter was following a large passenger plane flying toward the Salt Lake airport. The F-16 was tailing the plane closely, for reasons unknown to us.

As it quickly disappeared behind the buildings, we fell silent, fearing the worst. Fortunately, nothing appeared on the news about the planes. In retrospect, it was probably an exaggeration of circumstances on our parts, but still a very scary moment.

From the land where the state produce in the fruit category is the cherry, this is Jonathan Greco.