The Beijing Olympics have been running like a well-oiled machine. Efficient, smooth — but not particularly interesting or exciting to watch.

Until tonight. At least for me.

I walked into the Capital Indoor Stadium, the volleyball venue, and I happened upon the loudest, most-fired-up crowd I’ve seen in Beijing.

China was playing, of course, against Italy … but this wasn’t just about China playing.

This match had it all — including a near-capacity crowd. No, no empty seats of the sort  you keep seeing on television. Somehow, the people who bought these tickets actually used them, and most of them were Chinese and loudly partisan.

It made for a great atmosphere. You could feel the electricity in the air. The noise almost hurt your ears.

China lost the first two games but won the next two as the chanting, stamping, roaring crowd seemed almost to will them to victory.

They did the wave. They roared every time China scored a point. They groaned when italy scored. They were in it, and it was almost a college basketball atmosphere.

Just the sort of thing these Olympics have not had.

The crowd was in it right until the end, when Italy finally eked out a 16-14 victory in the decisive fifth set. Fans cheered their team, and the players waved at the crowd.

China isn’t a bad team. They make the quarterfinals, I believe, and they will be a handful just because of the crowd.

We could use more events like this one.

These are the technically brilliant and emotionally empty Olympics, for the most part.  Too many empty seats, too many disinterested spectators.

Here in this one time and place, late Monday night, it was different. And it was fun.