Olympics Opening Ceremonies (1 Viewer)

[Kraig Lang]

Well,

Sat and watched the opening ceremonies tonight and I gotta say, I really thought they were done well. Just a couple of the highlights for me....

#1 - First has got to go to the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team lighting the torch. Good Choice.

#2 - Seeing President Bush sitting with the athletes was inspiring. I couldn't help but laugh at the girl sitting next to him with the cell phone. When he started to speak into it, it looked like he said "Hi, this is your president". I laughed out loud at that one.

#3 - I thought the lighting and puppets during the night time fantasy suite were absolutely stunning.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

What about Spielberg being the representative for culture? I thought it was a good choice.

Kraig

 

[Scott L]

I liked Steve in it too! Very memorable. The puppets had me in awe. That huge one reminded me of the creature in Princess Mononoke, so it kinda freaked me out. (watch the movie and you'll see why)
One thing that kept bugging me was how Costas & Couric kept interrupting each other. Whose idea was it to pair those 2?
Overall it was ok. I liked the Sydney opening ceremony much better, but it was for Summer so naturally it was bigger.

 

[Chuck Frady]

The New York Cop singing God Bless America like he was Pavorati. Simply AWESOME.

As far as Costas and Couric. Two very large ego's kept bumping into each other. I think they are lovers though. It's the love hate thing...heh.

 

[Greg_Y]

Who was the other commentator? The "older" sounding gentleman. His natural style clashed a bit with Costas' polished delivery and Couric's stiff "I'm telling you my thoughts just like they appear on the paper I was given" approach.

 

[Jin E]

What? No War Eagle fans?As someone who hs been lucky enough to see the golden eagle fly around Auburn's stadium many a time, it's truly an awe-inspiring sight. It probably did not come across as much on TV... but you could hear the audience gasp in the background. To tell you the truth, that was the only reason I watched the opening cerimonies.

 

[Kyle Richardson]

I'm just a stone throw away from the opening ceremony and I was really impressed. I was just wondering if they appeared so well done since I'm biased (being so close) but it's good to see that others liked it as well.

Kraig, I have to agree with your highlights 100%; excellent choice on having the 1980 Hockey team light it!

Kyle Richardson

Acoustic Visions

 

[Jay H]

The older guy was Jim McKay... He normally does the Wide World of Sports figure skating stuff I believe.

Thought the ceremony was cool and thinking at the same time, thank god it wasn't too windy cause a bunch of those wind puppet things looked like they would get blown away..

one sour point, they didn't mention how many athletes the US of A had???? what's up with that? I'm gonna have to check it out online..

Jay

 

[Eve T]

I liked most of the opening ceremonies but was dissapointed in the puppet thing. Is it just me or did anyone notice that the "icicles puppets" looks like the Klan skating in? I thought that looked eerie. I'm glad they brought in the tattered flag, I didn't think it distasteful and will have to admit my eyes weren't dry. GO USA!

Peace,

Eve

 

[Kurt B]

I found the ceremonies to be very nicely done. Seeing the President with the athletes was a very nice human touch (IMO). We were out to dinner with friends and the entire bar area smiled and laughed a bit when he was handed the cell phone. I thought about the scene in 5th Element when Dallas' mom was talking to the president
~Kurt

 

[brentl]

From a Canadian point of view;

What I watched was cool but

1980 Hockey ?? Insiration ? it was still neat.

the puppets were fantastic!!

Robbie Robertson was good to see.

I didn't think the flag was appropriate at all. This is a WORLDWIDE event. More than 20 nations lost people in the WTC disaster ... None or all I say!

Brent L

 

[Eve T]

In response to the previous post:

The tattered United States flag didn't just represent The United States of America it represented as reminder and to pay respect to all those who died on United States soil on that terrible day no matter what country they were from. That's my take on it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I missed the opening ceremonies (I may watch the HDTV rebroadcast today, though ). The local radio talk shows have been blasting 1980 Olympic gold medalist Eric Heiden for turning down the Olympic organizers request that he carry the torch at the opening ceremonies. He would have been the person handing the torch off to the person/people that lit the torch. Heiden said if he could not light the torch, he did not want to do it.
I think a lot less of Eric Heiden after hearing this. He should have been honored to be asked at all. The Olympics were his shining moment, and yet he was too selfish to give something back.

 

[McPaul]

I got home late and ended up watching the Canadian rerun late at night(taped NBC's coverage), and they had a list of the top countries by number of athletes.

The US had the most with 215 I believe (for the person who asked).

Canada was fourth with 157, one person behind Germany. I can't remember the second one.

Great ceremonies. I thought it was good decisions to have the US olympic hockey team light the torch (we'll beat you guys this year though!) I also thought the puppet show was very cool too! I thought the local president of the SLC games spoke too fast for the people that didn't know english that well, and never spoke french, the official language of the games, but that's no big deal. All in all, I loved the whole event. Spectacular fireworks and that eagle thing was great too!

 

[MickeS]

Very, very good opening ceremony, IMO. Fast paced, artistic and always interesting.

Two flaws: the tattered American flag should have been kept out of the ceremonies. This is an international event that happens to be on American soil. Then again, I'm one of those people that believe that any tattered flag should be burned. That was a minor distraction though, compared to Couric and Costas TALKING THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE PERFORMANCES! What was up with that? The only time they were quiet were during the purely musical numbers. I would have loved to see the puppet stuff, the dancers and all the other performances without hearing trite comments like "That's a bear" when a bear was shown. Argh. Go away.

But like I said, the ceremony itself was great. As usual, it's NBC that screws up things...

/Mike

 

[Steve Owen]

What I watched was cool but

1980 Hockey ?? Insiration ? it was still neat.

Well, as an American, I can tell you that the 1980 Mens Hockey Gold Metal was one of THE defining moments in American sports history. It still gives me chills thinking about it. And all of those chills came back last night.

-Steve

 

[Richard Travale]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Native American Welcome. I thought this was very cool. Especially the five Chiefs gathering and welcoming the athletes.

All in all, it was a spectacular ceremony, start to finish.

 

[Steve Enemark]

I agree with everything MickeS said. Tattered flags should be burned, not flown. And Costas and Couric yammering over the performances was INFURIATING! Loved it when W talked on the athlete's cell phone.
I believe Russia had the 2nd largest number of athletes, like around 170-180.

 

[Michael*K]

Yeah, the puppets were great. Especially loved the bear one.
I'm glad Jim McKay joined the announcing team, but he did seem a little out of place. A few times he started to talk before Costas or Couric were finished.
I NEVER get tired of seeing a "Miracle on Ice" reunion.
I liked the choices of the people that skated around the torch once it got into the stadium, especially Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair. But no Brian Boitano? Still remember that duel in '88. What a great performance. Wonder if he was asked.
I guess it's cool to see one of the NY firefighters singing the Star Spangled Banner (even though I think he was leaving the dept.). Really though, this guy is turning into the Michael Buffer of patriotism. Anytime an event has a national or world audience and the Star Spangled Banner is being played, they trot out this guy. Very predicatable. I actually enjoyed hearing the Mormom Tabernacle Choir singing it more.
And as for Eric Heiden, he's a disgrace. I've alway held him in high regard and he must be considered among the all-time great Olympians. But to let ego get in the way (no doubt embittered by his 1980 accomplishments being overshadowed by the hockey team) of his decision was shameful. I think anyone else would have felt it a tremendous honor to carry the torch in the stadium.

 

[Michael Warner]

I'm just glad I live close enough to Canada to be able to watch the Olympics on CBC. The parade of nations without commercial interruption was a real treat as was the lack of constant chatter by the broadcasters. Plus, I just got finished watching the women's moguls live on CBC since NBC is showing NASCAR, CNBC is showing golf, and MSNBC is showing something else as well. Great coverage there NBC.

The opening ceremony was alright but they're getting too predictible. You can count on guys on stilts, zany costumes, and, if they happen to be in the U.S., a hoe-down.

 

[Kenneth]

I thought that the opening ceremonies were well done. As to the flag, I think that it was done tastefully and as an honor to all the countries affected by the 9-11 tragedy. Also, since there were a number of countries displaying the American flag alongside their own (which doesn't generally happen) I don't think most countries were offended.

As to the tattered flag, I think that it is appropriate to keep flags with historical significance (which that flag now is). Didn't we keep the flag from the War of 1812 that resulted in the origin of our National Anthem? I do think it should be retired to the Smithsonian now (or some other museum).

As to the political nature of the Olympics, that began in 1936. There will always be a political element because of the nationalistic nature of the competition. Just the nature of the beast.

Cheers,

Kenneth