Few things (other than this oppressive heat) scream summer like the Summer Olympics.  Held every four years, the Olympics pit top athletes from virtually every country against each other while the world watches the drama unfold online or on TV.  Over the years, we’ve seen Carl Lewis, the Dream Team, Flo Jo, Michael Phelps, and others become overnight celebrities on their way to winning Olympic gold.  On July 27th, and for the first time since 1948, the Summer Olympics open up in London. 

The United States will march out a competitive team in track & field, gymnastics, diving and other sports, but expects to dominate in a few sports and win the overall medal count.  For example, even though this isn’t the Dream Team, the men’s basketball team, led by LeBron James, is expected to bring home the gold.  Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are expected to haul in the most medals as they swim against each other more so than the rest of the field.  Women’s soccer is looking for a strong showing, and even the boxing team is hoping to rebound to relevance. 

Regardless of the outcome, the Summer Games can’t be beat in terms of excitement and suspense.  The summer games only come every four years, so gear up for the Summer Olympics with apparel and merchandise from FansEdge.  Shop now and take advantage of a great selection of olympic t-shirts, olympic hats, olympic jerseys and much more.

No, I’m not talking about the horror movie with Nicole Kidman and her creepy house, but rather the 2012 summer Olympics. When someone mentions the summer games, a few of our favorite sports and athletes come to mind: Team USA Basketball, swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, and women’s gymnastics.  Although great events and even better athletes, these are just three of 32 awesome sports that take place during the competition.  With all the attention focused on other events, some of the other amazingly talented athletes tend to get overlooked and forgotten.

What’s the summer without the beach and some volleyball? Two athletes to watch are Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal in Men’s Beach Volleyball.  They are going back to the Olympics, and this time they are expected to be better than ever.  What most don’t know is that the qualifying process for the Olympics takes a long (and more than likely draining) two years, earning points through an international professional tour.  These two will be accompanied by the other qualifying team of Beijing Olympics gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser.

The Men will kick off playing Saturday, July 28 at 3AM (Central Time), and will continue all the way through Thursday, August 9 where Gold and Bronze medal matches will be taking place starting at 1PM (CT).  You should expect to see one of these teams competing until the end.

Who never had the thought about being Robin Hood as a kid?  Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor – and you would get to shoot a cool bow and arrow. Well, Brady Ellison, Jake Kaminski, Jacob Wukie, and Miranda Lee, Khatuna Lorig and Jennifer Nichols are the real life ones.  These three men and three women will be representing Team USA Archery teams.  Team USA is actually kind of a big deal.  USA Archery has been named by World Archery, the sport’s international federation, as “the best nation in archery since 2008”.  You must keep a (bulls) eye on these guys!

Poor puns aside, both of the teams begin their ranking rounds on Friday, July 27 at 3AM (CT).  If you can’t stay up to see those, be sure to catch the Men’s Gold and Bronze medal matches the following day at 11:33AM (CT) and Women’s on Sunday, July 29 at the same time.

Time is running out to get your USA Olympic gear, with only about 24 days left until opening day. This summer is already proving to be a hot one, so while out and about town, be sure to throw on some SPF and grab a Team USA hat to block those rays.