Around 5:30 pm, I sat down to get ready for the opening ceremonies. Of course, NBC has to stick it to their viewers somehow. Here I am, in the same time zone as Vancouver, BC, yet we here are not allowed to watch the Opening Ceremonies live. I'll try not to be too mad, but rather excited about on-demand television coming to the Internet. I have no idea when that will happen, but I think it will. Frankly, NBC, I don't have much sympathy for your stated financial problems. You're making too many mistakes to be successful by default.
Have I told you that I want to carry the torch one day? I hope that happens. I was going to apply for the relay before Beijing, but there was a lot of animosity towards China at the time and protests against the torch bearers. Yikes.
This post is going to be long...as long as I can stay up watching. It's more for me to have a memory of these Games. But, if you want to reminisce (because you got to watch it live), read on.
Pre-Ceremonies: Lots of fluffy stories with sentences that don't have a logical ending.
We Are The World: Okay, I watched the original video like crazy when I was little. It may have even been on a VHS that also included Olympics. My family used to record most of the Olympics and I'd watch Opening Ceremonies and events over and over. The original "We Are The World" was my soundtrack through the late 80s. Seeing the new one, I think, "who are most of these people?" It's pretty good and definitely for a good cause and Will.i.am has been doing some good activism with his music, but no one, repeat: NO ONE, can replace Cyndi Lauper.
Interviews: Why do these sports interviewers ask awkward questions and try to make these superior athletes feel bad about themselves (e.g. "You don't have a gold medal, but your friends do. How do you feel about that?" and "Lindsey Jacobellis, you showboated and lost the gold medal last time. How has that affected you?"). Awkward!!
Ceremonies: I love listening to French! I have no idea what they are saying, but I still love it. I am so upset about the luge athlete who died today. I can't really handle that.
Hearing the reading of the cities that have hosted the Winter Olympics gave me goosebumps. Sarajevo was so magical. I loved Lillehammer so much. Salt Lake City and Torino were when I watched every moment I could.
I will name my first born Jacques, as it seems like that's how you become IOC President.
Yes! The Canadian National Anthem. I'm singing along in my head, which means that I'm making up the words I don't know and the ones that are in French.
Mounties! I am so excited about every moment of this. How do you get to be one of the chosen Mounties tonight? That is a beautiful flag. Gosh, if you read this blog post, you might think that I'm ready to defect to Canada.
As the announcers spout random facts, I am reminded to check my friend's Opening Ceremonies drinking game. I am not participating, other than laughing at how amazing it is (please drink responsibly). Here's a gem from the game: When the opening ceremonies performance includes something the Canadians are proud of, take a shot of Bud Light if the American equivalent is clearly superior.
That woman is on a platform floating in air. And singing the anthem. And from Slate's Live Blog: John Swansburg: So is there a shabbily dressed girl actually singing this in the wings, or did the Canadians learn a lesson from the Chinese?
Apparently, everyone in the crowd has been given an "audience participation kit" including a blue or white poncho, makeshift native drums, electric LED candles, and Canadian flags. So no, when you saw everyone waving them, it wasn't some coincidence.
The first nations! I love the native tribes...especially their beautiful costumes. I thought this section was beautiful. Did we recognize the natives during the Salt Lake City games? Probably not, but Conan told me not to be cynical. I don't think that this is something we are superior at...so have some Molson. This reminds me to go to Stanford Pow Wow again this year. I am in awe of the clothing of these people.
Parade of Second Nations! Just kidding. Yay for the athletes. I was once in the Jewish Olympics. The opening ceremonies remains one of the greatest experiences of my life. And the trading of official gear was a sport unto itself.
There are many drinking rules for the parade of athletes. Here's one: If there's a team from your continent that's excessively disproportionate in size to the country's actual population (e.g. Luxembourg has 20 athletes; China has 10), finish that same proportion of your drink. (Judges have discretion to define "excessive" disproportion)
Who am I loving:
Algeria's green coats (I'd trade for one).
Andorra's awesome sweaters!
Armenia has sweet scarves.
Austria's brothers both carrying the flag. I love that.
Azerbaijan pants! And fury hats. I am impressed.
Bermuda! Drink if a team is wearing un-wintry clothing (e.g. Bermuda shorts)
I get teary when I see countries that are completely war torn. B&H is one. Torville and Dean is coming back to me.
Brazil always looks so sporty.
Bulgaria is bedazzled!
Chile flag bearer is totally doing his job with that flag. And of course, I love it.
China amazingly has 90 athletes. They look great. Is it wrong that I think they are all gymnasts?
Czech Republic's pants! I hope there's a pants-off.
The Danes look cute. And mostly blonde.
Estonia...there's something I love about them tonight. The rules for the former Soviet block countries: pour some of your drink into a communal cup and share around the group.
Ethiopia reminds me of how 8 years ago, I realized that I might have a better chance of being an Olympian if I became an Israeli citizen and trained to be a cross country skiier. My roommate reminded me that I'd probably have to be in the army for a few years. Biathlon it is!
Amazingly, the first nations are still celebrating and dancing in the background.
Finland's jackets are sweet.
Thank you Bob for recalling something correctly from high school. Yay high school teachers.
Oh, Georgia. Stay strong.
Germany - what are you all wearing? The vests that you are wearing over your jackets say "team."
First athlete from Ghana ever in the Winter Olympics. Congrats!
London is pumped. They look so Euro and kind of French, actually. Drink because NBC is telling us that all the curling stones still come from Scotland. And then they mentioned icepartners.com
Flag bearer from Iceland knows how to work a flag and a fur hat. Drinking should occur whenever you see outfits with fur.
Whoa, India! Love the hats. "I'm a flag bearer. I do what I want."
Iranian woman! Holla! This really is AMAZING. I love everyone during the Opening Ceremonies.
Ireland has bright yellow'green pants. Seriously, pants-off NOW! John Swansburg: Ireland agreed to wear those pants to give Israel and Iran a common enemy
Israel. My people! You all are too cute jumping around a such.
Italy demonstrates why they are known for fashion. They brought it tonight.
Jamaica - love the coordination of this outfit with the summer Olympics gear.
Oh, I love the Japanese. They are waving both Japanese and Canadian flags. They get it. We Are The World.
Kazakhstan - will we hear the Borat Kazak national anthem? I love the flag bearer's hat.
South Korea - not with the North. Tough stuff there. You guys need to talk to the Japanese. They seem to like everyone.
Drink for Liechtenstein and being out of proportion!
The blondes of Lithuania looks great in the green.
Mexico in fur. And the oldest athlete. This is getting fun!
Moldova flag bearer's birthday. Matt Lauer thinks you should send him a card.
Monaco with the sweet sweaters and scarves. Like it.
Mongolia flag bearer's outfit is gorge!
Montenegro's outfits are fierce. Pride of the scarf! And the Slate live blog continues to make me laugh.
The flag bearer from Morocco accidentally is throwing some gang signs. Cut away!
The Nepali delegation looks great.
Netherlands. I love them. The royal color of orange is awesome and the ever flattering orange butt stripe.
New Zealand is pumped and they look good in all black. Nice nod to the rugby team.
Norway! My homeland! I love them so much. Love, love, love them. I'm a bit disappointed by the baseball caps.
Pakistan. This is also known as the Parade of Nations Who are Fighting with Other Countries.
Peru is probably not wearing Patagonia jackets. But they kind of look like them.
Poland lookin' fresh!
Portugal - one athlete. You know what to do.
Romanians looks pretty cute too. Flashback to Nadia. Thanks Matt.
Russia! They get the next Olympics. And they have awesome jackets that I can't even describe.
What is up with all the white pants?
Slovakia, you're going to love the way you look.
Slovenia...my other homeland. Very, very nice. Why can't the U.S. do classy?
South Africa. You all are awesome. Especially since you stopped the apartheid stuff.
Spain - where are your name scarves? I expected more.
What is with the people in white dancing in the background? It doesn't seem like they are dancing to the rhythm of the music.
The Swedes in yellow. With Swedish flag gloves! Those are totally awesome. Trade for those, Lindsey Vonn! Those Swedish women are pretty beautiful.
The Swiss. Mmmm your chocolate is so good. I like the tote bags you have. And did everyone get a video camera with their gear?
Chinese Taipei with a special Olympic flag. I want to know more.
Tajikistan. So cute. I'm totally teary.
Turkey had the best stuff at the Jewish games. They look good here too.
Turkey had the best stuff at the Jewish games. They look good here too.
And the aborigines still dance.
USA! They are wearing weird white pants with boots. Oh, but they are happy and I love them.
Oh, Canada! You look awesome! And look at all the white teletubby people jumping around for you. It's crazy that all these people are athletes. So impressive. I'm totally crying. I love this part of the Olympics. When there's so much hope and optimism.
And I'm off to sleep. I'll watch the rest of the OC on even further delay.
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2 comments:
Oh, so much to comment on. Eric, Felix and I enjoyed the opening ceremonies from our bedroom (and I got to watch them again a few hours later while nursing), and they were pretty good (still think Beijing's drumming was amazing). Not sure how I felt about the torch lighting; perhaps it would have been more impressive in person.
We are the world: I was delightfully disappointed. I think it is b/c, like you said, Lauper and gang just killed it the first time. And who is the J. Beiber child? I am impressed with Wyclef (despite the contraversy on his $), but just didn't like this version as much. And did you hear about them putting in men with those green outfits so you can put yourself in it when it goes viral? Okay, that's a little strange.
Can you tell us why some countries were not in alphabetical order? South Korea sprinkled in not in the "s" category? I am sure there is a logical answer, but we were too tired to figure it out.
Loved the first nations entrance and dancing...but not sure about the athletic feat they (and the white teletubbies) performed as they danced during the parade of nations. Obligatory dancing reminds me of the tickers at the bottom of screens--it seems like motion for motion sake.
Azerbaijan pants--clearly the winner. That guy seemed so happy carrying the flag!
I cannot remember the country, but one of them had jackets that looked like red and white high school letter jackets. And there was the country with hats that looked like half of a hackey sac. USA--totally disappointed. The polo jackets seemed all too small. I did like the hats and there is something amazing about seeing your own country proudly march into the stadium, seemingly just as excited as the audience. I thought many other countries had better outfits, though.
I sound like a total hater, don't I? I am also so much more of a summer olympics person. Eric and I also tend to think that events that have judges are not so much sports as they are athletic competitions (freestyle moguls? Freestyle ice dancing cross? Okay, just kidding). I cannot wait for speed skating, though...
I totally passed out at 9er. Ugh. I am sad I missed the show. Adam said it was pretty cool.
We are the World... what was that awful editing job they did? It made me NOT want to download it on i-tunes.
I am also so disturbed by the death of the Georgian luger. I'm really sad about it and will bite my nails and have ibs the whole time I watch that event.
On a happier note, the DiIorios are totally in Vancouver!! Make a Wish granted Jacob's wish to go to the Olympics. They are going to four events:
short track speed skating tonight
snowboard cross
USA vs. Sui means hockey (!!!)
snowboard half-pipe (!!!)
ENJOY!
P.S. WHY are there no events being shown on NBC right now?!?! argh...
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