"Lost Boy" a local hero in Upstate New York
10:15 p.m. Thursday, August 7, 2008
If it's possible to fit a tiny town's Olympic love into a parking lot behind a church surrounded by a cornfield, the people of Tully get a gold medal.
"It's pretty exciting to say the least."
Hundreds of people showed up at St. Leo's Church to support the local kid whose Olympic dreams are unfolding before their eyes.
"It's a little surreal to see a kid who I rode school buses with to competitions, we sat in the back and talked about whatever is going on in school, now I see him on TV."
But this was small town mingling with a mission. They came to wish Lopez Lomong good luck at the Games, and to raise money to send his foster mom and dad to Beijing.
"Literally everyone was calling us saying we're going, we're sending you. Everyone was telling us, 'you have to go, you have to be there. We'll have to do a fund raiser'. We weren't interested in doing a fundraiser. It's not a good economy. Once we talked about it, they said it's for Lopez, 'you need to be there for Lopez'."
And while the guest of honor was on the other side of the world, he was at the party in spirit...and on t-shirts...and on paper...and on cardboard...and shortly before 8:30, he was on the phone.
"Man you guys are great, what a wonderful people of Tully for putting this thing together, and thank you and I'm about to go to the track right now and...wow...I'm just (laughs)."
But this won't be the last party in town for the former Lost Boy, because next Friday every TV in Tully will be tuned to the games as Lomong goes for gold. How hard is this town going to rooting when that gun goes off?
"Are you kidding me??? You'll probably be able to hear us at least in Buffalo."
And if Lomong wins the gold and the story of his life goes from Sudan to the silver screen, they won't have to look very far to find someone to write the movie.
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