For me, I prefer the OP's article as it's very much from the perspective of someone still "in the trenches", whereas your artcle seems to be approaching it from

For me, I prefer the OP's article as it's very much from the perspective of someone still "in the trenches", whereas your artcle seems to be approaching it from the angle of already being through the trenches and reflecting on how awesome it went. I suppose it's like comparing watching Rocky to watching 2 hours of Lennox Lewis in his prime, you want to see the progression happening, not necessarily look back. That would be the main point from my perspective and it's simply a matter of preference.