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Sue Bird, Eddy Alvarez lead Team USA at the Parade of Nations

Posted at 6:48 AM, Jul 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-23 11:21:54-04

Team USA emerged from the tunnel during the Parade of Nations led by Sue Bird and Eddy Alvarez as the Opening Ceremony kicked off the Tokyo Olympics Friday.

Bird is a four-time WNBA champion and has helped guide Team USA to four Olympic gold medals in women's basketball. This will be her fifth appearance at the Olympics. Alvarez is a former silver medalist in short track speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and will be competing in baseball in Tokyo.

Bird and the U.S. Women's Basketball Team will look to win their seventh straight Olympic gold medal this summer. Their first game is set for July 27 against Nigeria.

Alvarez and the U.S. baseball team will kick things off against Israel on July 30.

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 23: Flag bearers Sue Bird and Eddy Alvares of Team United States lead their team out during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Eddy Alvarez and Sue Bird lead the USA during the Parade of Nations.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Alvarez was mic'd up during the Parade of Nations and described the scene as he and Bird guided the U.S. out of the tunnel.

"This is absolutely incredible. Thank God that I have Sue here holding me up because I'm freaking out a little bit," he said. "This is so emotional and I'm feeling the energy by my team right now and it's absolutely incredible."

The Opening Ceremony will be aired during primetime on NBC Friday evening.

Primetime Coverage: NBC, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT

Stream on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app