XXII Winter Olympic Games - Sochi, Russia - Opening Ceremonies
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME SPORTS STUFF????!!!!????
*ahem*
Sorry. I got all excited there.
For the next 2 weeks, I will be obsessed with all things Olympic. The games, the athletes, the Opening and Closing ceremonies, the gossip, etc. It will be pretty much nothing but Olympics this and Olympics that. You have been warned. And because this will most likely be a long entry, I'm going to put the majority of it behind the cut.
But before I do, I'll tell you that this post is going to cover my thoughts on the Opening Ceremonies, from the ceremony itself to the coverage of it by the US (on NBC), Canada (on CBC), and by the UK (on BBC). That is a whole lot of BC acronyms.
And away we go.
First, let me start off by saying that I have watched every Opening Ceremony since I was 11 years old (the Sarajevo Winter Olympics were in Feb 1984 and I turned 12 in May 1984). I remember watching some of the events for the Lake Placid games in 1980 but I can't recall seeing the Opening Ceremonies. And the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 so I don't think they were televised here. But I clearly remember Sarajevo because I had to look it up on a map to find out where Yugoslavia was. Having seen all these Opening Ceremonies, nothing even comes close to the Beijing Opening Ceremonies. THAT WAS SPECTACULAR! I suspect that as time goes on and technology begins to surpass what we have available to us now, some other city MIGHT have one more awesome than Beijing but probably not within my lifetime.
That said, I don't think Russia did a horrible job. It certainly wasn't as good as other cities, but it wasn't the worst. Because the BBC has no commercials and was broadcasting in Sochi time, I got to see it in full first. Then I watched the NBC and CBC versions, which were heavily edited for commercials and time. Here are my thoughts.
The Good:
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Overall, it was a nicely done ceremony. I didn't get bored through it, even during the speeches and the necessary protocol portions.
Some nuggets of useless information for you.
*President Putin wanted the games to start at 8:14pm because it's the 2014 Olympics and 8:14pm is 20:14 in military time.
*One of the flag bearers of the Olympic Flag is a virtual race car driver. VIRTUAL. Make of that what you will.
*The torches and the Olympic Flame statue were designed to resemble the feather of a Firebird, based on the music of Igor Stravinsky.
*One of the athletes on the Argentinean team is named Macarena.
*Vanessa Mae is a violinist who is competing for Thailand in skiing.
*In a bit of controversy, one of the athletes who brought the torch into the arena to pass it off is rumored to be the woman with whom Putin is having an affair (and supposedly he is divorcing his wife of 30 years because of this woman).
*ahem*
Sorry. I got all excited there.
For the next 2 weeks, I will be obsessed with all things Olympic. The games, the athletes, the Opening and Closing ceremonies, the gossip, etc. It will be pretty much nothing but Olympics this and Olympics that. You have been warned. And because this will most likely be a long entry, I'm going to put the majority of it behind the cut.
But before I do, I'll tell you that this post is going to cover my thoughts on the Opening Ceremonies, from the ceremony itself to the coverage of it by the US (on NBC), Canada (on CBC), and by the UK (on BBC). That is a whole lot of BC acronyms.
And away we go.
First, let me start off by saying that I have watched every Opening Ceremony since I was 11 years old (the Sarajevo Winter Olympics were in Feb 1984 and I turned 12 in May 1984). I remember watching some of the events for the Lake Placid games in 1980 but I can't recall seeing the Opening Ceremonies. And the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 so I don't think they were televised here. But I clearly remember Sarajevo because I had to look it up on a map to find out where Yugoslavia was. Having seen all these Opening Ceremonies, nothing even comes close to the Beijing Opening Ceremonies. THAT WAS SPECTACULAR! I suspect that as time goes on and technology begins to surpass what we have available to us now, some other city MIGHT have one more awesome than Beijing but probably not within my lifetime.
That said, I don't think Russia did a horrible job. It certainly wasn't as good as other cities, but it wasn't the worst. Because the BBC has no commercials and was broadcasting in Sochi time, I got to see it in full first. Then I watched the NBC and CBC versions, which were heavily edited for commercials and time. Here are my thoughts.
The Good:
- Here's the only good thing I'll say about the NBC broadcast. The on-screen graphics they used were much better than CBC or BBC. Especially during the Parade of Nations. Even though the venue had the graphics on the floor that showed the country, NBC still had their own map to show where the country was, along with the population, how many athletes there were, who the flag bearer was, and what countries were next.
- The BBC commentators were great. They didn't talk over everything. They imparted information when necessary and then shut the hell up. There were 2 commentators but only 1 did the majority of talking so I'm not sure what purpose the other person served.
- I like that the Parade of Nations was done early. That's easily the worst part of the Opening Ceremonies but getting it out of the way ensures that people will stick around for the whole broadcast.
- I loved loved loved the ballet elements. First the scene from War and Peace and then the "Doves." So elegant and pretty.
- Some thoughts on the outfits:
- I think you could see the Lithuanian outfits from space. Dark green jackets and LIME green pants. That's a whole lot of green going on.
- Germany said their coats weren't any sort of political statement about the anti gay policies of Russia but no one else did the rainbow.
- Hey Ralph Lauren. Take a look at the sweaters Andorra was wearing and then look at the ones you designed for the U.S. Do you see how FUCKING UGLY the U.S. sweaters were?
- Bermuda wasn't the only country to wear shorts in the middle of winter. You go Cayman Islands!
- The placard holder ladies had on nice white outfits (and I loved their boots!!) but the head pieces and the actual placards where a bit over the top.
- The Netherlands really love their orange, don't they?
The Bad:
- NBC's coverage sucks. I will say it over and over again until NBC no longer has the broadcast rights. Matt Lauer and Meredith Vierra love to hear the sound of their own voices so they chatter and chatter through the whole damn thing. Sometimes, they threw in interesting facts but for the most part, it was blah blah blah. The CBC commentators started off that way but then they managed to tamp it down about 15 minutes in.
- While I love the BBC coverage, the problem is that there are no commercial breaks and because it's a live feed, I can't pause it, so restroom breaks are non existent.
The Ugly:
- NBC edited the speech of the IOC President. He basically took Putin to task on the anti-gay policies (but in a very passive aggressive way). They also cut out the oaths of the athletes, coaches, and referees.
Overall, it was a nicely done ceremony. I didn't get bored through it, even during the speeches and the necessary protocol portions.
Some nuggets of useless information for you.
*President Putin wanted the games to start at 8:14pm because it's the 2014 Olympics and 8:14pm is 20:14 in military time.
*One of the flag bearers of the Olympic Flag is a virtual race car driver. VIRTUAL. Make of that what you will.
*The torches and the Olympic Flame statue were designed to resemble the feather of a Firebird, based on the music of Igor Stravinsky.
*One of the athletes on the Argentinean team is named Macarena.
*Vanessa Mae is a violinist who is competing for Thailand in skiing.
*In a bit of controversy, one of the athletes who brought the torch into the arena to pass it off is rumored to be the woman with whom Putin is having an affair (and supposedly he is divorcing his wife of 30 years because of this woman).