The 19th Winter Olympics

February 9, 2002 8:00 AM

The 19th Winter Olympics are now officially under way, begun with America's take on the traditional opening ceremonies. What moved you to tears? What made you gag? Were you proud to be an American, or so embarrassed that you couldn't watch? Was the WTC flag presentation tasteful? Was John Williams' score inspirational? Did you like the ice dancing, the fireworks, and the Native Indian celebrations? Who did you want to see light the Olympic caldron?
posted by johnnyace (73 comments total)

I thought the ceremony itself was relatively entertaining, but wanted to throttle Costas and Couric with their needless, unending, banal commentary.
posted by johnnyace at 8:07 AM on February 9, 2002

At the moment, CNN's unscientific meaningless poll indicates only 30% of people who vote in CNN web polls will even watch the Olympics. Another 40% will watch highlights (like on a news cast, or maybe the newspaper) and the remaining 30% will live productive lives spending quality time with family and friends.
posted by fleener at 8:15 AM on February 9, 2002

Who did you want to see light the Olympic caldron?
that virgin porn czar.
posted by quonsar at 8:17 AM on February 9, 2002

What U.S. athlete was most deserving of the limelight associated with lighting the Olympic cauldron?

Curling Alternate, Don Barcome.
posted by machaus at 8:26 AM on February 9, 2002

The worst part of the opening ceremony was Bob Costas and Katie Couric providing "Ice Dancing Interpretation for Dummies," just in case some viewer in Peoria might have missed the nuanced symbolism of a child with a lantern being menaced by giant icicles.

The best part? A tie between the relatively low-key Sting/Yo Yo Ma performance and the skating of the bear and the other animal puppets, which were created by the guy who designed the puppets for the Lion King Broadway show. I forget his name, but the kinetic energy of those designs is amazing.

Seating President Bush with the American athletes was a nice touch.
posted by rcade at 8:29 AM on February 9, 2002

Overall, what I saw looked good. I particularly liked all the indian stuff and Team USA brought back some good memories. On the bad side, I thought the "giant icecicles" chasing the little boy actually looked more like a bunch of Klansmen chasing the little boy... but perhaps that's 'cause I live in the South and the KKK is a bit more of a prominent presence here than they are in Utah. Its a good thing they didn't cast a little black boy in that role though! And most of the music was good, but crap like that LeeAnn Rimes song at the end ALWAYS makes me gag. Who likes that stuff? Argh... Oh, and as much as I usually like Katie and Bob, their commentary seemed very unprofessional and off-the-cuff, and well, kinda lame. I'm glad they defrosted Jim McKay one last time though.
posted by spilon at 8:30 AM on February 9, 2002

I had to watch, per my wife, and was underwhelmed for most of the ceremony. Seeing President Bush with the athletes (and talking to an athlete's parent on her cell phone!) was cool, and I enjoyed the "Rodeo" music and the symbolic meeting of the trains via the "Golden Spike." As the announcers reminded (often), it cut the time it took to travel from NYC to SF from months to six days - history in the making. The "Native American" theme was overkill in the extreme, but having to endure Sting, Dixie Chix, and Rimes was the worst part. And re: Yo Yo Ma -- my wife commented (when I asked "Who is that?") that he's the most famous cellist in the world. My thought: to 99% of the world, he's the ONLY cellist. Bah. The Olympics are only standing in the way of me seeing fresh episodes of my favorite NBC (L&O:CI, Just Shoot Me) shows this month. Having said that, I hope the USA brings home plenty of medals...I just don't care to watch it.
posted by davidmsc at 8:41 AM on February 9, 2002

" I'm glad they defrosted Jim McKay one last time though."

Not me. I kept wondering when they were going to hustle him away and re-medicate him. It was sad to see a once-great commentator reduced to a babbling fool.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:51 AM on February 9, 2002

When the "settlers" started moving west, did anyone else turn to the person next to them and ask: "Is now the time when they slaughter those native americans we just saw?"
posted by jpoulos at 8:56 AM on February 9, 2002

Were you proud to be an American

Not really. I'm Canadian.
posted by scotty at 9:02 AM on February 9, 2002

what olympics?
posted by bunnyfire at 9:03 AM on February 9, 2002

i oved the score by williams, and i enjoyed the "settlers" dancing and costumes. the puppetry was amazing. i liked the five indian chiefs giving their little talk, and i liked the olympic circles in flames.
hated the whole passing of the olympic torch thing....too many. it should have been one person. hated the dixie chickies. liked the cellist, hated sting. liked the tabernackle choir, and beethoven's music. overall a nice opening. oh....those trains were silly!
posted by billybob at 9:15 AM on February 9, 2002

My friends and I were wondering where all the Chinese workers who actually built the transcontinental railroad were, but maybe we're just cynical like that.

I was disappointed they didn't have any symbolic ice skaters celebrating the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act or the Populist movement. Now that's history entertainment.

Favorite line of the evening: The high school hockey team wasn't too sure of the ice skating eagles theme, afraid it was a little too "artsy," but now they're really into it.
posted by gramcracker at 9:20 AM on February 9, 2002

I myself enjoyed South Korea's outfits.
posted by auzten at 9:23 AM on February 9, 2002

The whole "light within" thing would have better if they cut it down about half, and those icicles looked like they were en route to a Klan meeting. I could have done without Sting and Yo-Yo Ma as well. I thought the Native American theme was well done as I was half expecting "The Brigham Young Story" from the Utah folks.

Jim McKay needs to return to hibernation. The guy was good at one time, but last night he just got in the way. If they really wanted "Old Olympic Guy" they should have brought along Dick Enberg.

The "Miracle on Ice" team from '80 was nice, but I would have preferred someone more significant.

(Oh, and kudos to the US audience for the big cheer for Team Jamaica)
posted by owillis at 9:27 AM on February 9, 2002

"did anyone else turn to the person next to them and ask: "Is now the time when they slaughter those native americans we just saw?"

My wife and I both said it at the same time. Heh.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:27 AM on February 9, 2002

This American watches the Olympic Games (winter and summer) via cable TV on the CBC: live coverage, minimal chit-chat, no "USA USA USA" jingoism.
posted by Carol Anne at 9:36 AM on February 9, 2002

Could we put a moratorium on the phrase "jingoism"? Sheesh. I'm going to call every other nation's display of national pride "jingoism" from now on, because it's quite obvious its not allowed for us Americans any more. I didn't get the memo.
posted by owillis at 9:38 AM on February 9, 2002

Was anyone besides me surprised to see a team from Iran? It sure looked like Dubya wasn't too happy to see a third of the "Axis of Evil" show up.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:42 AM on February 9, 2002

Jim McKay. Ouch.

The Prez chattin' on a cell phone. Loved it.

W's reaction (or lack thereof) when Iran's Olympic delegation was announced. Oof.

Katie Couric. Overpaid.

Sting & Yo Yo. Awesome.

Robbie Robertson & the dancers. Horrible audio - couldn't even make out the lyrics.
posted by thatweirdguy2 at 9:44 AM on February 9, 2002

Anyone else notice looking at the crowd it seemed that for every man there were four women and 12.3 children?
posted by Mack Twain at 9:46 AM on February 9, 2002

The guy was good at one time, but last night he just got in the way.

If McKay wants once last chance to cover the games, he deserves it. I'd rather hear his senile babble than Costas's halting, dramatic BS.
posted by jpoulos at 9:47 AM on February 9, 2002

Thank heavens for CBC - broacasted in its entirety with few commercial interruptions. I loved seeing the Native American nations welcoming the athletes to Utah; even if it turns out it was nothing more than touchy-feely, paying lip service to Multiculturalism instead of an actual recognition of the five nations represented. No Katie Couric with her preternatural cheeriness, and intelligent commentary to boot.

I loved the Dixie Chicks, but I think someone at the SLOC really needs to read the lyrics to "Ready To Run".
posted by likorish at 9:49 AM on February 9, 2002

Oh - and a big thumbs up to the crowd for cheering like mad for Team Canada. That put a smile on this wanna-be Canadian's face.
posted by likorish at 9:52 AM on February 9, 2002

I thought the ceremony itself was relatively entertaining, but wanted to throttle Costas and Couric with their needless, unending, banal commentary.

As Marv Albert would say, "YESSS!!!"

Those two really ruined my ability to take in the spectacle and enjoy/judge it on its artistic merits. And it was so obviously original -- did you see those puppets by the designer from the Lion King? awesome! -- I really wanted to. Damn them! Damn them to hell!!!!!!!

I did think the presentation of the WTC flag was beautifully reverent, hitting just exactly the right note without being either maudlin or over-the-top. Between it and the national anthem, which followed shortly after NYPD officer Daniel Rodriquez' sure, strong a capella version of "God Bless America," I was all teary-eyed. And that was a good thing.
posted by verdezza at 10:05 AM on February 9, 2002

Weirdest, yet so very significant moment: Steven Spielberg being announced as the "cultural representative" holding the big Olympic flag. I guess he's the best representative of the (north) AMERICAN culture, but jeez...

Then again I can't think of anyone better off the top of my head, so I shouldn't complain.
posted by Grum at 10:07 AM on February 9, 2002

I agree with the praise to the CBC. Simple and strong coverage. All countries shown without commercial interuption (not that I watched them all).
posted by stevengarrity at 10:13 AM on February 9, 2002

jpoulos: I couldn't agree more. The way Costas constantly squirms to say something quotable kills me. It makes him sound like he has come from the future to provide sagacious voiceover for the event.

McKay wasn't at his best, but he at least sounded like a real person who was experiencing the moment and trying to convey it to the audience.
posted by rcade at 10:14 AM on February 9, 2002

san francisco no longer gets nbc for non-cable subscribers (boo! hiss! corporate greed!) and so, no olympics here. but i wanted to correct this:

which were created by the guy who designed the puppets for the Lion King Broadway show. I forget his name, but the kinetic energy of those designs is amazing.

julie taymor (not a guy) is the fabulously talented puppeteer/director of the lion king and a bunch of other great work.
posted by judith at 10:21 AM on February 9, 2002

Julie Taymor directed Lion King, but I do believe the person who created the puppets was the same as at the ceremony according to the commentators.
posted by owillis at 10:24 AM on February 9, 2002

As a native New Yorker, I appreciated the occasional, mostly tasteful references to 9/11... especially seeing some of the athletes from other countries waving American flags. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed to hear the phrase "axis of evil brought up when the delegation of Iranian athletes entered. The Olympics is supposed to be about setting aside political differences to compete in an atmosphere of mutual respect. There's no place for such baiting. The athletes from Iran should have been welcomed as warmly as all the others.
posted by Soliloquy at 10:25 AM on February 9, 2002

My wife made a good point: shortly after International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge gave a moving speech about how all who compete in the games are winners, regardless of country or if they win gold or not, in parades the torch bearers--all gold medalists, all Americans--culminating with the entire 1980 U.S. hockey team (In your face Russkies!).

So much for the "spirit" of the Olympics.
posted by gazingus at 10:27 AM on February 9, 2002

I thought the ceremonies were excellent, congratulations to all involved. I was excited the whole way through, captivated especially by the floating animals and the wavy effect they had. But did anyone else feel that the President's declaration that the games be open was a little awkward?

Now, all I can say is, Go Canada Go!
posted by dai at 10:35 AM on February 9, 2002

Last night was one of the few times I sat on the couch to watch the opening ceremonies. I tuned in early I think, as the dancing puppets weren't on. Pre-game show I guess.

The only thing I remember is the weather report by that guy from the Today show and how the ski jump qualifying deal was cancelled because of bad weather. Then more Costas and Couric head waggling. And I LIKE Costas, but he bored me stiff.

Next thing I knew, my wife was waking me up. It was 10.30. Such is the banality of Costas and Couric. Didn't see a single minute of the ceremonies. Sigh.
posted by Tacodog at 10:40 AM on February 9, 2002

Sorry, meant, "one of the few times I watch TV." Big reason is I always fall asleep, just not as fast as last night.
posted by Tacodog at 10:42 AM on February 9, 2002

I'm a big sap these days, so I find myself getting teared up over the smallest things (hey I'm a new father, what do you expect). So I was teary through a lot of the show, totally switched off my inner cynic.

That said, anytime Couric chimed in, my enjoyment was shattered. Costas was a little annoying, but at least coherent. McKay - what can you say, love the voice, fond memories of the personality, but last night... wow, he seems to have gone far off his meds indeed. Favorite line of his (about the Bison puppet) "floating along with.... shadow... [waits for puppet to turn sideways]...uhh, there... silhouette deals.. inside..." Duh and ouch, Jim.

Mitt Romney - great speaker, great speech. Puppets - gorgeous (esp. that floating Moose - I had a dream about it last night). Hoedown - overdone. Axis of Evil mention - short-sighted and stupid. Kristi Yamaguchi - just fantastic, and Sting and Yo-yo Ma, classy - should have ended with them. And yes, I had nothing better to do last night ;)
posted by kokogiak at 11:23 AM on February 9, 2002

This American watches the Olympic Games (winter and summer) via cable TV on the CBC: live coverage, minimal chit-chat, no "USA USA USA" jingoism.

And this American is helping the CBC get you that coverage... I'm really enjoying working the Olympics. Hope everyone is enjoying the show!

- v

(Go Canada! er... America! er... Turkey... Jamaica... Hey! GO EVERYONE!!!)
posted by silusGROK at 11:29 AM on February 9, 2002

Since I missed the Couric/Costas yakking, mute button. I can not comment to that, but the overall effect as I watched in beautilful silence was nice. I even figured out basically was the little kid with the lamp meant. The animal puppets were great.

And there were Chinese with the group of westward settlers. Maybe having the sound off help me notice them.
posted by bjgeiger at 11:46 AM on February 9, 2002

I was cringing along with the rest of you whenever McKay tried to chime in. I'm a fan of what he did in the past, but it was painful last night. As for the torch ceremony, where was Eric Heiden, the Mark Spitz of speed skating and perhaps our greatest winter Olympian?
posted by gimli at 11:54 AM on February 9, 2002

Off-topic: Congrats, kokogiak! New father-hood is one of the best things in the world; the "sappiness" will only increase as the tyke grows and you pull out the photo album and look at pix of him/her still in onesies and drinking from a bottle.
posted by davidmsc at 12:00 PM on February 9, 2002

I watched about half of it and thought what I saw was visually stunning, but I wish I'd turned off the audio. It rather pissed me off to have it tape-delayed two and a half hours, yet to see the word LIVE continuously emblazoned on the screen. For God's sake, I was listening to a recap on the radio as I drove home. There was a pre-opening ceremonies show put on by a local station, too, and the anchors were obviously divided on whether to sustain the illusion that the opening ceremonies were being broadcast live. One woman said "in a few minutes we'll be broadcasting the opening ceremonies live" and then they went to a guy who said "earlier, during the opening ceremonies..." It obviously was not live, so why all the pretense?
posted by kindall at 12:03 PM on February 9, 2002

gimli: I heard on the radio that Heiden was asked to be a torch bearer, but declined to participate when his request to be the final bearer/torch-lighter was denied.
posted by gyc at 12:13 PM on February 9, 2002

Thanks davidmsc - but my newness as a father is relative, she's just over a year old now - but it still feels like it's all new. That said, I'll share my daughter's comment on the whole Olympic opening: "Snow!". She just learned that word and said it over and over again watching last night. Awww.
posted by kokogiak at 1:06 PM on February 9, 2002

Agreed that Costas and Couric shoulda shut the hell up, especially during the Flag bit. Did anyone else notice, during one of the dance numbers, you could hear a director say, a couple of times, "DON"T SHOW THESE PEOPLE!"

And I also thought that the coverage was too up-close and you didn't get an idea of the full scope of the thing...especially the big dance numbers. R. Kelly looked like an idiot in that Apollo Creed bathrobe.
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:09 PM on February 9, 2002

kindall: It was live for the East coast.
posted by owillis at 1:39 PM on February 9, 2002

Eric Heiden, mmmm.
posted by verdezza at 2:03 PM on February 9, 2002

The worst part of the opening ceremony was Bob Costas and Katie Couric providing "Ice Dancing Interpretation for Dummies," just in case some viewer in Peoria might have missed the nuanced symbolism of a child with a lantern being menaced by giant icicles.

Everything you need to know about TV networks - and network news - can be summed up in the following paragraph: Jeff Zucker, who is now the president of NBC Entertainment, got his start as a lowly researcher, spending a couple of years compiling a giant "cram book" of useless, inane tidbits such as these about every country and athlete for the NBC announcers to annoy viewers with during the Seoul games in 1988. It is because of that book, and the way all the announcers gushed over it (because it dropped the amount of work they had to do to essentially zero; did you notice how obvious it was in Couric's voice last night that she was just reading from a stack of dry prefab factoids all night, instead of actually thinking of anything to say on her own?) that he was given a job on the Today show, which he eventually took over entirely. (It also didn't hurt that he's a member of the Harvard Mafia; that's very useful at NBC.)

Not to say Zucker isn't talented; he is. But the fact remains that he got his big break by creating something that helped NBC to dumb down Olympics coverage so much that most viewers can't stand it. I always thought you were supposed to be rewarded for making your companies' products better, not worse.

posted by aaron at 3:22 PM on February 9, 2002

My impression of Couric & Costas was that they were treating the opening ceremony--and especially the parande of nations--like it was the freakin' Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Not cool, and I wanted to throttle them. Especially when Costas made that crack about Latvia: "They always complain that they never get to be on TV due to commercials, so here they are! (two seconds later) And we'll be back in a few minutes."

I, too, loved the puppets and Sting/Yo Yo Ma. And all the ice skating. Could have done without the KKK icicles and the axis of evil comment. I thought the patriotic stuff was for the most part well done--which pleased me, as I was expecting a big stinky piece of Patriotic Cheeze.
posted by eilatan at 3:38 PM on February 9, 2002

But did anyone else feel that the President's declaration that the games be open was a little awkward?


Of course it was awkward, his lips were moving.

He was reading it off of a cue card.

Can you believe that? The guy couldn't even do that without a crutch. Incredible.

That girl shoved the cell phone call in his ear, he didn't have any choice in the matter. Karen Hughes probably went nuts when that happened.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 4:28 PM on February 9, 2002

Jesus, that's one of the more pathetic trolls in MeFi history.

Anyway, has anyone else noticed how much less ... what's the word I'm looking for here ... technologically-advanced NBC's site is this time compared to the Quokka-designed bells-and-whistles extravaganza it was for Sydney? The current one is obviously just MSNBC's standard (and extremely ancient, in web terms) template with a ton of pancake makeup slapped on it. A major downshift. I guess Less is More these days.

Of course, Quokka went bankrupt like all the other dotcoms...
posted by aaron at 4:34 PM on February 9, 2002

Eric Heiden, mmmm.

I'll second that, verdezza. And third it and fourth it. God, look at those legs...

OK, now that I have revealed my true reason for watching the Olympics, I can also state my fanaticism for Aleksei Nemov...(I know, I know, gymnastics is a summer games event, but I just couldn't resist...)
posted by evanizer at 4:41 PM on February 9, 2002

I enjoyed it.

This is what worked for me:
The tattered flag held solemnly in the glow of a new one.
Small doses of prez. (Sitting w/Olympians - nice touch)
The whole "child of light searching for the fire within" thing.
Kristi Yamaguchi & Friends kicking some major ass.
The great living puppets of wild animals. Snake in the grass. The bison. I loved it.
The silly but fun Cats meets Michael Jackson Video On Ice with the coyotes and wildcats.
The parade of Olympian nations.
Spielberg's face: "I'm enjoying myself but I admit I'm outclassed here."
The final legs of the passing of the torch.
The 1980 ski team lighting the torch together.

I was ready to make fun of Salt Lake City this year. They proved that they deserve to be the hosting site. I got nothing to say to diss them now. They kicked ass.

Couric & Costas should have turned off their mikes. Other than that it was a good time. I even liked it when McKay stepped on his own tongue. I mean, he's McKay. He's entitled.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:02 PM on February 9, 2002

aaron: If you go to the "about the sports" section of the site, you can tell some of it is remnants from "The Quokka Era" as they all have those // lines and big background images.
posted by owillis at 5:06 PM on February 9, 2002

While I liked the American Flag from the WTC, I wondered what happened to all the nations' flags that were also flying at the WTC. Some of them must have been recovered? Maybe? It would have been pretty dramatic to see all those flags.
posted by amanda at 5:12 PM on February 9, 2002

For me, it felt great to know that the 5 Indian Nations, the traditional voices of the land, were heard around the world. The 1980 men's hockey team missed its chance to run up the steps and pass the torch, with great gallantry, to Peggy Fleming and the women's hockey captain at the top. Oh well. Luckily the wry Russian humor about hitchhiking from Moscow in the pre-game Coke ad took some of the cold-war edge off. (Clearly someone at the network lost artistic control over the rest of the pre-event half-hour. I'll ignore the narration.) To my great surprise, the patriotic aspect was just right- Sting, the policeman, and Mr. Bush pulled it off. Hats off to the Man in Red for attempting 2 aerials on skates in front of such a huge crowd. Hope the other Olympic skaters aren't all trying it at home.
posted by sheauga at 6:02 PM on February 9, 2002

amanda: FYI, all the international flags hung from the mezzanine of 2 WTC, and so were certainly destroyed as the entire mass of the building came down on them.

The flag used at Salt Lake City was probably one of the flags from the plaza, which were, I believe, all American flags.

Had any of the flags survived, it would have been a great part of the ceremony to include them.
posted by evanizer at 6:05 PM on February 9, 2002

Personally, I would have loved to see the tribes do the great Ghost Dance, raising the spirits of wronged Native Americans who would proceed to wreak havoc on the descendants of their European oppressors..
The most fun was creating dialogue when the five representatives of the tribes spoke with the five athletes and received the tributes..
"Welcome my brother from the Netherlands..what is this strange weed you now bestow upon me?"
"Welcome my brother from Japan..as an Asian, also exploited by the white man in America you will be permitted to leave here without bloodshed.."

I know, it's silly, but it was more fun than listening to Costas and Couric...
posted by tetsuo at 6:27 PM on February 9, 2002

When the settlers where doing their dance routine, all I could think about was the beef council commercials.

CBC commentators also made a comment about the Latvians as well. Apparantly they got a letter from a family in Toronto who complained (tongue in cheek) that they never showed the Latvian team. They got a good chuckle when they mentioned that on air and where able to show the Latvian team.

The olympic flag being brought in was really impressive, considering the people they lined up to carry it in.
posted by smcniven at 6:43 PM on February 9, 2002

I thought the Hoberman Arch was pretty cool
posted by redhead at 7:15 PM on February 9, 2002

Only comment is that, naturally, all the speechifying and stuff was simultaneously subtitled in Korea, here, naturally. But when the president of the Salt Lake committee mentioned at beginning of his speech the '9-year old boy in Seoul, Korea', that was the only part of the speech which was not subtitled in Korean. It would seem to be have been a last minute addition...possibly a response of sorts to the growing anti-american sentiments here in Korea over the last few weeks. More here if you're interested (self-link).
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:33 PM on February 9, 2002

Posting before my first coffee=bad. Please ignore the incoherence, as usual.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:32 PM on February 9, 2002

I'm all call and response-y tonight.

I'm going to call every other nation's display of national pride "jingoism" from now on, because it's quite obvious its not allowed for us Americans any more.

Then let's call jingoism on those Swedish soldiers in Kandahar (I think they were swedish, it was some UN country that I was surprised to see, in any case) who were chanting and screaming when their nation's athletes marched in. Jingoism, I say! Bah to soldiers chanting their own country's name!

Robbie Robertson & the dancers. Horrible audio - couldn't even make out the lyrics.

There were audio problems all night, but that whole segment was cheapened by Costas and Couric waiting until after the song started to tell us about Robertson's N.A. heritage, and to tell us that Walala, the "backup singers" (never heard of a duet, I guess, huh Katie?) were Rita Coolidge and her sister and niece, and spell out their N.A. cred. NBC dropped the ball on that portion of the presentation, big time.

Julie Taymor directed Lion King, but I do believe the person who created the puppets was the same as at the ceremony according to the commentators.

Michael Curry is the amazingly talented visionary who created the amazing puppets. He also had a role in designing the costumes of the klan-like icicles (don't hold it against him) and the other representational players in presentation. He and Julie Taymor are credited as co-designers of the Lion King puppetry.

Anyway, has anyone else noticed how much less ... what's the word I'm looking for here ... technologically-advanced NBC's site is this time compared to the Quokka-designed bells-and-whistles extravaganza it was for Sydney?

There is still an unresolved lawsuit over the official Sydney website because with all of it's text-as-graphics, nested tables, shockwave and flash, text-readers for the blind were completely flummoxed by it. NBC hopefully learned an important lesson from that.

When the settlers where doing their dance routine, all I could think about was the beef council commercials.

That's because it's the same song -- Aaron Copland is spinning in his grave because everyone in America thinks his beautiful composition is the "Beef" song.
posted by Dreama at 10:25 PM on February 9, 2002

While I liked the American Flag from the WTC, I wondered what happened to all the nations' flags that were also flying at the WTC

Someone suggested on Sportsfilter that it would have been more inclusive (literally and figuratively) and less "USA! USA! USA!" if one person from each country that lost citizens in the WTC would have walked away from their delegation to stand under the tattered flag. I think it could have been a really great, respectful gesture.
posted by mathowie at 10:48 PM on February 9, 2002

I didn't even think of the Klan when I saw the icicles. Did you notice that some of the skaters in that thing were on stilts? That must take some hellacious skating ability.
posted by kindall at 11:40 PM on February 9, 2002

Then let's call jingoism on those Swedish soldiers in Kandahar

Damn Swiss. First the cheese, now wanton displays of national pride. Next thing you'll tell me they have secret bank accounts that they allow anyone (even criminals) from around the world to stuff cash in. Whaaaaaa? :)

[turn on your sarcast-o-meter if not in place]
posted by owillis at 12:55 AM on February 10, 2002

My only problem with the opening ceremony was NBC in general and those two moron yakkers in particular. I will make an effort not to remember their names.

Explaining the child of light? "Axis of evil"? "They're not here to win any medals"? What was that bs about "you can be sure every woman from Kazakhstan (or another soviet satellite, don't recall) who plays ice hockey is here"? Countless other moronic biased comments? WTF? You're covering for one of the biggest audiences in the world, ever, and all you have to say is this?

Should have used the mute button - but then I would have missed the music during the skating and the fr/en spokespersons (who I thought were kinda cool).
posted by azazello at 1:46 AM on February 10, 2002

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was bothered by the incessant commentary. NBC should have taken a clue from MTV and shared the trivia tidbits as pop-up video; that way I could've at least listened to the stirring soundtrack.
posted by johnnyace at 1:49 AM on February 10, 2002

Then let's call jingoism on those Swedish soldiers in Kandahar

Damn Swiss. First the cheese...

Owillis: Sweetie darlin' bless your heart, the Swiss are not the same as the Swedes.


Anyway, I thought the US wasn't going to be able to trot out that WTC flag. What happened?
posted by acridrabbit at 2:05 AM on February 10, 2002

Note to self: do not make posts about cheese and countries starting with Sw at 12:55am. Them and their damn meatballs.
posted by owillis at 2:31 AM on February 10, 2002

gimli: I heard on the radio that Heiden was asked to be a torch bearer, but declined to participate when his request to be the final bearer/torch-lighter was denied.

This came up at a party my wife and I attended last night. My best friend's mom summed it up best: "What an ass." And I don't think she meant it in an evaniser/verdezza sort of way :)
posted by gimli at 8:58 AM on February 10, 2002

I personally can't wait until the Closing Ceremonies when we get to see each nation carrying symbols of the atrocities committed against them. That should be just awesome.
posted by yupislyr at 10:33 PM on February 10, 2002

Hold the child of light down, take the lantern away from him, and send him to his room.

Geeze.

I've been to a few opening ceremonies in person (starting with Munich in 1972 when I was 12, with my parents), and there is a definite bloating trend.

I am firmly convinced that the ceremonies should be:

National anthem of the host country and Greece.
Brief opening remarks.
Parade of nations.
Official head of state opening and possibly the organizing committee remarks.
Bring in the Olympic flag (the raising of this always gives me the most goose bumps for some reason).
Do the hymn.
Light the torch.
Goodnight.

The Trade Center flag was a nice touch, and it was cool to see the President sit with the athletes and the Secret Service guys dressed as athletes.

On a mildly related note, I am still disappointed by the IOC's decision to stagger winter and summer games. The Olympics loses some of its special quality when it's every two years.

And I dearly wished for a function on my TV remote that would cut the vapid commentary, and present just the crowd noises and stadium public address stuff, C-SPAN style.
posted by ebarker at 7:35 AM on February 11, 2002

Eric Heiden wasn't the only American behaving badly--Picabo Street also campaigned to carry the flag.
posted by Carol Anne at 7:39 AM on February 11, 2002