StickItMedia had the pleasure of attending the Gymnastics Superstars performance held on 9/20 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. It was a great show, featuring the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Team, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and Chellsie Memmel, and others. What would a gymnastics extravaganza be without Paul and Morgan Hamm and Blaine Wilson? Well, they were there too. New Disney all-girls band KSM provided a happily raucous soundtrack for the evening, and when they weren’t on stage, the guys picked some awesome muscle songs for their routines.

We were fortunate to have front row seats that put us very close to the high bar, beam and floor. Not only did we have an intimate bird’s-eye view of the action, but we were also able to high-five and say hello to all the athletes as they walked by. The men demonstrated the great team spirit they exhibited in Beijing. They were really into it and looked like they were having a blast. Liuken, Johnson, and the other "lady gymnasts," as they were called, were amazing with their solo routines.

The men performed on the main stage using gymnastic mushrooms, and each other, in a group flares-and-stunts routine. They were all over the high bar, sometimes two to a bar, and worked like Cirque de Soleil artists on sets of rings that flew around high in the air. They threw in some tight hip-hop style moves, and lit up the stage with their strength and intensity. What a show. Fearless routines were the norm.

After more than a decade of each of their lives spent worrying about judges, coaches, and form, the men just let go and performed the best of the sport of gymnastics for sheer fun. The high bar exhibition was the high point of the show and was absolutely incredible. Wearing only jeans or street pants, the guys chalked up and performed an amazing array of giants, releases, and dismounts that ranged from the sublime to the absolutely insane. They flew up into the air and crash landed like dive-bombing hawks. They swung around and caught the bar like trapeze artists. Blaine’s numerous one-armed giants were a big hit. Jonathan Horton finished off the whole high bar exhibition with a dazzling solo encore routine, which worked the crowd into a frenzy.

The crowd also went nuts as Sasha Artemev did his thing on the pommel horse. The Hamm twins were another huge crowd favorite when they did their duo routine on the floor to Daft Punk’s "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." Naturally, the crowd loved Morgan’s patented air flairs.

While the girls were fantastic and the music was fun, the huge draw for this show was the joyful cameraderie and exuberant athleticism of the men. We at StickItMedia are biased because we love the men’s sport, but others around us at the show who had come mainly to see Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin admitted that they felt the same way. The men stole the show.

For truly appreciating the thrill of the sport without the judges searching for bent knees or unpointed toes, you can do no better than visiting this tour when it comes to a town near you .  Thanks to GymnastTV.com for publishing some great photos of the event (including the one on our front page).  Look at the one showing the smile on Justin Spring’s face. Smiles like that could be seen all night on the men’s faces. They were having quite a time, and if you see the show, you will, as well.

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