The New Yorker on the Games

[darkside]

Anthony Lane in the New Yorker in two letters from the Games. He thinks Lord Coe is a bit worried about matching the Opening Ceremonies:

"Formerly Sebastian Coe, part of the shining generation of British middle-distance runners in the nineteen-eighties, he now heads the team that will bring the Olympics to London in 2012. I tried to pick him out among the V.I.P.s on that first Friday, but without success. He may have been hiding in the men’s room, calling home to order more light bulbs. You can imagine the rising panic in his voice: 'They had two thousand and eight drummers, all lit up. Yes, two thousand and eight. And what have we got so far? Elton John on a trampoline.'”
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008 ... _fact_lane

Observing Bolt's lack of nerves: "Indeed, from his first heat up to the final, the following night, he seemed to be participating less in an Olympic sport than in a gargantuan party, which happened to have a sporting theme. My deepest fear was that he would break the world record and then test positive for rum and Coke."

Lane likes Bolt, comparing his performance after the 100 to Russell Crowe in Gladiator, and noting that to show such free spiritedness in a totalitarian country "felt like a blessing and a mischievous joke."
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008 ... _fact_lane

[BillVol]

Great Britain can equal China's opening ceremony by keeping it simple. It is getting ridiculous. China had the built-in advantage of being a communist country, too, which means you don't have to worry about volunteers. China's opening/closing ceremonies were almost as over the top as the North Korean 'Arirang' festival.

[gh]

one wag in Beijing suggested that the only way Coe can top the Chinese is to stage a reunion concert.... with all 4 Beatles.

[Paul Henry]

Great Britain can equal China's opening ceremony by keeping it simple. It is getting ridiculous. China had the built-in advantage of being a communist country, too, which means you don't have to worry about volunteers. China's opening/closing ceremonies were almost as over the top as the North Korean 'Arirang' festival.

Come on Man, give credit where credit is due and save the negatives. It would have been just as bad if a capitalist country did something similar beacuse they had all the money to pay people. The olympics are a spectacle for the world an cannot be simple. The ceremonies were good and the world was awed. END OF STORY!!

[AS]

The ceremonies were good and the world was awed. END OF STORY!!

You missed the "b" on the front of that word. Just because something involves a lot of people and a lot of preparation and a lot of fireworks, that doesn't make it interesting. I would absolutely love London to say "no spectacle, just athletes".

[tandfman]

The ceremonies were good and the world was awed. END OF STORY!!

You missed the "b" on the front of that word. Just because something involves a lot of people and a lot of preparation and a lot of fireworks, that doesn't make it interesting. I would absolutely love London to say "no spectacle, just athletes".

Some observers thought that the only thing boring about the opening ceremony was the parade of athletes, which lasted more than two hours.

[AS]

Some observers thought that the only thing boring about the opening ceremony was the parade of athletes, which lasted more than two hours.

And those observers should spend their money on tickets to the circus/theatre and leaving sporting events alone...

[tandfman]

Some observers thought that the only thing boring about the opening ceremony was the parade of athletes, which lasted more than two hours.

And those observers should spend their money on tickets to the circus/theatre and leaving sporting events alone...

But the parade was not a sporting event. It was a parade of country names, flags, and a group of people that, in some cases, seemed to include more officials than athletes. And none of them were doing anything remotely having to do with sports. They just walked in, did a lap around the track, and then took their places on the increasingly crowded infield. I'm not saying that this was without value, but after two hours of it, many people I spoke to thought it was just too darned long.

[dkny]

"one wag"?

[rasb]

Thanks for posting the links to the New Yorker articles. I very much enjoyed reading those.
As for the debate about the Ceremonies, I thought they were absolutely marvellous, awe-inspiring, and certainly worth a few hours of my time. I watched them twice in fact, with different commentary, and loved them both times. If you are bored by watching the representatives of 204 Nations march into a brilliant, new 91,000 seat Stadium in the country of China to kick off the Worlds biggest celebration of Sport, that's fine. Just turn the channel.
I would watch them again, just to see what I might have missed. Try as I might, I could not find one single "uniform malfunction" from the greeting gals.

[kevinsdad]

China put on a great show people say, but did anybody else read about the 16 hour work days and forced labor camp-conditions imposed on the performers for an extended period in preparation for the ceremonies? I believe the director made the comment that he couldn't have done this in the U.S, where performers have human rights, as I believe he put it. The same could be said of England, of course.

[AS]

Some observers thought that the only thing boring about the opening ceremony was the parade of athletes, which lasted more than two hours.

And those observers should spend their money on tickets to the circus/theatre and leaving sporting events alone...

But the parade was not a sporting event. It was a parade of country names, flags, and a group of people that, in some cases, seemed to include more officials than athletes. And none of them were doing anything remotely having to do with sports. They just walked in, did a lap around the track, and then took their places on the increasingly crowded infield. I'm not saying that this was without value, but after two hours of it, many people I spoke to thought it was just too darned long.

I'm not saying the parade itself is fascinating. I'm just saying that all these bells and whistles are an annoying distraction to the real thing: the competition. I would love to see a host city end the costly race to out-razzledazzle the previous hosts...

But, hey each to to their own...

[tandfman]

If you are bored by watching the representatives of 204 Nations march into a brilliant, new 91,000 seat Stadium in the country of China to kick off the Worlds biggest celebration of Sport, that's fine. Just turn the channel.

And what if you're sitting in that stadium, on a very hot and humid evening, and you can't leave because the busses don't leave until after the ceremony is over? (And you wouldn't want to leave anyway because there was some very good stuff after the parade and everyone knew that this would likely be the case.)

[scottmitchell74]

Great Britain can equal China's opening ceremony by keeping it simple

Exactly. They should strive to be....British. I think they'll do fine if they don't force the issue. I'm looking forward to it. There's immense history and cultural uniqueness to Britain. They can certainly "wow" us without going over-the-top.

[rasb]

If you are bored by watching the representatives of 204 Nations march into a brilliant, new 91,000 seat Stadium in the country of China to kick off the Worlds biggest celebration of Sport, that's fine. Just turn the channel.

And what if you're sitting in that stadium, on a very hot and humid evening, and you can't leave because the busses don't leave until after the ceremony is over? (And you wouldn't want to leave anyway because there was some very good stuff after the parade and everyone knew that this would likely be the case.)

1) sweat...
2) acknowledge that you are an incredibly fortunate SOB to be present on such a remarkable and historic occasion.
3) try to find something or someone of interest.
or
4) have a little snooze, and wake up for the good stuff
You're welcome...