Kevin Tan sits on top of a large padded cube -- legs and feet motionless as they dangled freely -- fielding questions with a continuous tranquil facial expression.
"He's always been very even-keeled and calm," said Jessica Bacheler, Tan's girlfriend who he's known for five years. "He's just absolutely the most humble person in terms of his ability and what you guys get in the media in him being calm and collected is really how he's always handled it."
The steady and level-headed demeanor of Tan was on the minds of his teammates last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. when they voted on who would lead them in Beijing.
"There are nerves," Tan said. "But it's a lot of excitement, just knowing that we're going out there to the big show. We're very confident in the team we have and what we're able to do and accomplish."
The U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics captain practiced yesterday afternoon in the White Building for a light run-through since he stopped his heavier training in Colorado. Tan leaves State College Monday to travel to San Jose, Calif. for processing duties, and will depart for Beijing on July 31.
Come August 9, the first day of gymnastics competition in Beijing, it will be all business for Tan and his U.S. squad. Every roster spot on the U.S. Olympic team has world championship and Olympic experience.
"They are unbelievably close, they do everything together," Bacheler said. "I'm surprised, even in their off-time they all go to dinner together, they all have a great time. That's really important and it's special, they've really been able to create quite a friendship and a family out of it."
During their stay in Colorado Springs, the team played a fair amount of the video game, Rock Band -- with Tan showing off his skills on vocals and guitar.
Recently, Tan and his teammates saw The Dark Knight, and Bacheler said they ordered a pay-per-view movie every day and watched it as a group.
As he walks into Beijing Olympic Stadium wearing his nation's colors, Tan will gaze up and see the Olympic torch blazing, signaling that his dream has come to fruition.
"[This means] well, everything," Tan said. "It's what I trained for my entire life in this sport. And to be able to represent the United States and have USA across your chest while walking out, it's gonna be an amazing experience."
While that moment will seem surreal, Tan says the nine best gymnasts in the country enter the Olympics with the anticipation of leaving Beijing with some hardware.
For Tan, the thought of standing on the Olympic podium with his team wearing medals draped around their necks started four years. After all of his collegiate eligibility was spent, Tan sat down with Penn State head coach Randy Jepson to blueprint his future options in gymnastics.
"I just encouraged him," Jepson said. "I told him, 'You gotta believe it yourself. If you don't believe it, don't spin your wheels, don't waste your time.' "
While coaching at Penn State, Tan would come into the gym as early as 11 a.m. to workout for around three hours.
Tan's ascension from Nittany Lion recruit to Team USA captain has taken place in front of Jepson's eyes. Jepson will accompany Tan to Beijing as an assistant coach for the U.S. national team.
"It's more the fact that I know how he does things," Jepson said. "What he needs, how to make corrections for him. We speak the same language that way, we do it everyday together."
Bacheler said Tan spends some of his free time at their State College home on YouTube.com, viewing international competition so that he's aware of what they're doing. But for the most part, once Tan leaves the gym it's time to relax. In between quiet dinners and going to the movies Bacheler says Tan shows off his exceptional Guitar Hero talents.
But Tan may have some stiff competition in the popular video game. Bacheler has heard Tan's teammate, Joey Hagerty -- who Tan has known through gymnastics since age 7 -- is pretty amazing at the interactive guitar-playing game.
"[The team] definitely has a good time together," Bacheler said. "It's not business all the time."
