The Opening Ceremonies Thread

Did anybody else notice Speedy in the audience? CBC gave him an extended close-up.

I watched most of the opening ceremonies last night.......thought it was a bit bizarre at first, but then really got into the parade of history.......loved the costuming and make-up. One thing for sure, I had to get out a world map to figure out where some of these nations were located. Give me a C- in geography...........42

Unfortunately, me being cable-free, my local NBC affiliate comes in so sketchy at best that I'm not sure how much of Athens I'm going to be able to see. (Now, if it were the WINTER Olympics involved, I'd break down and pay for cable for a month!! ) But I did, through black and white snow, did see part of the ceremonies, tho I couldn't read any of the graphics so didn't know who the flag bearers were unless they were specifically mentioned.

First of all, the thing that rather amused me, was the "alphabetical order" used due to the use of the Greek alphabet. I think my favorite combo was when Estonia came in followed by Switzerland followed by Gambia. (I think it was Gambia, anyway. Definitely not a country that started with either E or S, anyway). Then for a while a bunch of N's came in and all I could think was, well, aren't we about due for the Czech Republic now??

I was appalled to see one of the basketball players (natch!) chomping away on their gum as they walked into the stadium. Real classy....

I could have also well done without Bob Costas' take on Saudi Arabia's human-rights violations as their team walked into the stadium. There is a time and place to discuss this, but THAT was certainly neither. Coastas being of Greek descent himself, it should be interesting to see how many "native boy comes home" features they do. I guess it's a good thing that CSI New York is going to be on CBS because if it was on NBC it wouldn't surprise me if they hired Melina Kanakarades to do wandering reporter fluff pieces about Athens and Greece in general so they could plug the show.... :sheesh:

Let the games begin!! [And let the atmospheric conditions be just right so I can actually get a fairly decent picture so I can see what on earth is going on once they do!!]

I really liked what I saw of the opening ceremonies. Beautiful.

As a classicist and utter hellenophile, I am just so choked up with happiness for Greece at the moment!! .
First Euro 2004, going in as the joke team, set to come nowhere, they magically ended up winning the thing, and now they have such a wonderful celebration of their history, and present and future achievements with these Olympics.

All the Greek people I know just seem to have a glow about them, it's a great time to be Greek! I'm so happy for this country that has gone through so much, and given the entire western world not only its cultural basis, but a legacy that is still as alive and relevant today as ever.

I love Greece! Please let these Olympics be as wonderful as they deserve!!

kateri.

bronxgirl said:

I have to admit that I hope that New York doesn't get the 2012 bid. It would be nice to take the money that would be built for the sites, and use it to directlty upgrade the cities' infrastucture - why do we need the extra expense of the games to do this? I don't think too many of the site have recouped the money spent for the games for the buildings and security tabs. (JMHO)

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They could re-open those fire stations that they closed down for lack of funds. Same thing goes for that Football Statdium in Manahattan. Who needs the clutter of traffic it will bring. Why not just put it in Staten Island?

Oh yes, the opening show at the olympics, I thought it was rather mystic. Those kinda lazer lights with the lowkey background music made it a very enjoyable mellow show.

Joe

I missed the first part of the Opening Ceremonies, but got to watch most of the athletes marching in. Unfortunately I feel asleep right before they showed the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

JonnyCoop, I also noticed the gum chewing but it was not the only the US athletes but a lot, I'd say 75%, of all the athletes marching into the stadium.

I kept thinking that there was a production of Grease in Athens and they were all auditioning. But seriously could the reason be that it was very warm/humid and they were chewing gum in lieu of carrying water bottles?

4dk - who wonders what brand of gum they were chewing. They all seemed to enjoy the experience greatly and with great vigor.

RealtorGal said:

Hi, my name is C---- and I am a TOTAL Olympics-aholic! (I know, I've said that before!)

One of my dreams is to see an Olympics in person--winter or summer, I don't really care. During the beautiful opening ceremonies, I made a silent commitment to myself to do everything possible to make that dream come true!

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Do you remember the UT running an article back in 1996, saying that SD was toying with the idea of bidding for an Olympic games in the future?

I wonder what happened with that...did it go up in smoke? More importantly, do you think our city could even host it? They (I think it was KNSD) had actually said the suggestion was splitting the venues between LA, SD, OC, and TJ (would've been the first binational Olympics).

BronzeisGolden said:

Realtorgal, I am with you on both of your posts. I too pray that these Olympics go off without a hitch. The world situation is so volatile now and such a well publicized event would be the perfect place to make a statement. BTW, did you know Steven Spielberg is making a film about the 1972 Olympic hostage tragedy?

I also hope to win the lottery someday...so I can go to each and every Olympic Games! I don't think my teaching salary will ever get me to Italy...or China....or NY (or wherever they decide to host the 2012 Games).

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What scares me is the judging in rhythmic gymnastics. Back in 2000, I watched a bit of the hoop prelims, and one girl performed her routine, and one of her judges was none other than her coach, and MOTHER! She even blew her a kiss from the judges' table! the commentator said it's common in rhythmic gymnastics to have your own coach judge you...I remember the Deruginas, who run the program in Russia were banned from judging once...though I don't know for what...

I thought they were absolutely fabulous, although a few times some silly comments from Bob Costas and Katie Couric spoiled them a bit. I saw the Salt Lake City Olympic opening ceremonies in person and I still remember the excitement I felt. On TV I have to admit they don't appear as grand as they do in person, but I was VERY impressed with the creativity of the Athens opening ceremonies. They all are creative and present the best of their country and culture so it was not a surprise to see Athens present the historical aspect- the journey through time. It was a reminder of how much of the Greek history I have known, simply as a result of growing up, and how much it has been a part of our civilization. The water was used beautifully (and I was wondering later what happened to it), and the way the Olympic rings lit up was spectacular, even on the TV screen. The colors were beautiful (white boat against the blue water, and later the 'statues' throughout Greek history). The people hanging by ropes created spectacular moving sculptures. We are so lucky to be able to get a glimpse into other countries because of the Olympics. From my experience in Salt Lake City I had a greater appreciation for how big a festival the Olympics are, and how difficult it must be to put on a show like that.

It was touching to see the joy etched in the face of Gianna- the organizer that pulled off the nearly impossible: getting ready for the games in just one year, after the first 3 years were wasted. Greece is a tiny nation, with fewer resources than mega powers like USA, Canada, and others. My hats are off to them for creating such a spectacular opening ceremony.

I got bored during the parade of nations. It is hard to watch 202 nations, no matter how interesting. I am glad that they showed the parade, however. It is a very important part of the Olympic ceremonies. I have taped the show and I can watch them bit by bit later.

One more interesting thing was the alphabetical order. Even though Greek symbols /alphabets have been a part of scientific notation, which I have used for years, I had never given a thought to the order of alphabets compared with English. So it was unpredictable which nation would march in next.

Vash

CBC's coverage was swell. They announced the majority of countries, and rarely let a contingent by without noting the flag bearer. They let up a little after Canada marched, while they miked a bunch of conversations with some of the athletes on their cell phones as they waited for the torch lighting. (The athletes, needless to say, were ecstatic.) They focused particularly on a woman wrestler, who was in tears during the march in. In prior Games she had cheered on her husband, formerly a wrestler and now her coach, and she never thought she'd be able to compete herself.

My vote for cutest contigents goes to: Norway, Ukraine, Slovenia, Cuba, Ireland, and Netherlands.

Who carried the American flag in? I miss that part.

Dawn Staley - U.S. Womens basketball.