National Geographic Special

Me, at the center of the screen, talking to a reporter while watching Tonya Harding compete at the Olympics

So, I posted earlier this year that an NBC camera was focused on my face as I watched Tonya Harding skate at the Olympics. About a month ago, National Geographic Channel backed up my claim. In their segment about the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal, they showed a brief clip of me sitting at the table watching Tonya skate as I talked to a reporter. I'm seen at the 5:50 mark, after Hillary Clinton speaks: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9clPzA6BXX4

It's taken me a while to come to terms with this. It was just unbelievable to be watching TV, and then see my younger self on the screen. Plus, there was the embarrassment of it all….

I defended Tonya against the world media back then. I was on TV defending Tonya so much back then that I became something of a celebrity myself. Family across the country saw me, and all my friends were talking about it. I had complete strangers coming up to me and saying things like, "I really agreed with what you said on the news last night…."

I went through years of trying to forget all of this.

But I look back now and am no longer embarrassed. Here's why: at base, all I was trying to do was what you're "supposed" to do -- support a home-town athlete!

And I sincerely believe Tonya wasn't involved in planning the attack. Tonya had already beat Nancy Kerrigan in competition. And you can hear Tonya say with swagger, "It won't be a real victory until I get a shot at Nancy at the Olympics…." Tonya had beat Nancy before, and she wanted to again. It was just her husband who wanted to get control of her life and career.

And, finally, I now realize something I hadn't realized at the time: I was in love with Tonya. I was very young, and I saw her as a "damsel in distress," someone that the world was beating up on, and I wanted to be her Knight in Shining Armor.…

The opening scene in this National Geographic segment is of Tonya practicing at Clackamas Towne Center before the Olympics. I was there during this practice. (This coverage shows a reporter named Connie Chung. I remember turning to my right one day and seeing her standing 10 feet from me!) It was during these practice sessions that I fell in love with Tonya. You have no idea what it was like to stand only feet from this beautiful young blonde woman with an incredible body as she executes these amazing, powerful leaps.

But it wasn't the leaps that made me fall in love with her. It was when she fell (as is shown in this clip) … and then GOT BACK UP!

My mother watching Tonya Harding skate at the Olympics.