First, I must say I was surprised by the results of yesterday's poll: over 50 percent of you aren't going to watch the Olympics at all?
Wow. The Olympics have been part of my life since I was a child. Some of my greatest memories with my family, especially my mother, are watching the Olympics. This is a tradition I've carried on with my kids. I will miss VERY LITTLE of these games, and will love every second.
As for the Opening Ceremony...WOW! How astounding. Those that missed it missed quite the spectacle, like nothing I've ever seen.
As the parade of athletes begins -- I'm three hours behind -- I can only hope I'll be able to see the two American athletes I know and have met that are competing here.
For whatever reason, the site won't let me respond to Noel, so I'll respond to Shawn:-).
Here are my observations:
1) The coolest opening ceremonies EVER were the 1988 opening ceremonies in Seoul. For those who don't remember or don't know, it will probably be one of the last games where live doves are used. The reason: half of the flock decided to perch themselves in the torch and were STILL perched there when the flame was lit. As a middle schooler, watching snow white doves turn black in an instant was utterly hilarious (we are ALL Beavis and Butt-head at some point in our lives!!!)! I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my early teens. OK, so I guess my sense of humor has always been warped... :-)
2) I noticed the IOC threw an absolute fit over the use of Army Rangers for some portions of the opening ceremonies in Atlanta in 1996. (They pleaded for the Rangers to not perform their contribution in uniform. They didn't.) But I don't think the guys who raised the Olympic flag were members of the local Beijing Boy Scout troop.
3) Do not get me wrong here...the story behind the nine-year-old boy who was walking alongside Yao Ming when the Chinese athletes entered the stadium was inspiring, and the fact that he was put on center stage like that was simply great. But was I the only one who noticed the Chinese flag he was carrying was upside down?
4) This will be an interesting Games for me; I was in Beijing in 2005 and have pictures of me standing by the Olympic countdown clock near Tiananmen Square.
5) Sorry, NBC, China is NOT the world's third largest economy. That news might be of some surprise to Berlin. And Paris. Perhaps even Ottawa. And the editorial staff of The Economist. And the roughly 80% of the Chinese population still engaged in agriculture on land they do not own.
6) I cannot friggin stand Bob Costas. Or for that matter NBC Olympic coverage. But at least Katie Cupcake wasn't there to make the opening ceremonies excruciatingly painful this time.
That being said:
The Olympics are now on in Beijing. May the people of Beijing get positively sick of hearing the Star Spangled Banner because it gets played so many times! May the Beijing Organizing Committee run out of U.S. flags for medal ceremonies!! USA! USA!! USA!!!
when I heard costas or lauer comment something to the effect that the Chinese people had such freedom of choice since the mid 1980's...oh yeah, those free Communist countries and their freedom of choice. Well, they did say the Chinese people could wear colors now.
Didn't you have to laugh when you heard of all the pollution in the air in China and the restrictions on the citizens...oh, do you think our pollution is working it's way to Beijing...LOL.
I barely saw the Barcelona Games much to my disappointment due to me being a busy, industrious teenager at the time...they MAY have used live doves. I am not sure. Atlanta featured a bunch of schoolchildren carrying paper doves mounted on long sticks, much like a stiffer variation of a kite. IIRC, both Sydney, Athens, and now Beijing featured images of doves.
Hence my statement about how Seoul may have been the last Games to feature the use of real, live doves for the opening ceremonies.
I don't think the doves have ever been featured for the Winter Games just because...well, it's the Winter Games.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
I can't stand Costas either. His voice just screams out "patronizing." It is so funny, though, how he says the most idiotic things with such authority.
It gets my goat even more given that Costas is supposedly a conservative.
Actually he describes himself as a liberal. If he is calling himself liberal he is probably socialist or just this side of communist. I used to occasionally hear the end of his radio show on sundays when I was waiting for Drudge to come on.
Noel: In the poll yesterday I must confess I said I would watch very little of the Olympics.
THere are a couple of reasons for this:
In the past couple of Olympics, the coverage of the games on US television has been Abysmal. Nearly all of it has been "Human Interest focused" where the commentators show you a long and involved story about the athlete and his mother, or his love of dogs etc - followed by thirty seconds of real athleticism.
COuple that with the TV commentators building up marginal athletes with high expectations who later prove to be dud's. Best example is the drunk US downhill skier from the last Olympics who the network told us was a shoe-in for a medal who in the end could not seem to find the bottom of the mountain.
It helps to live near Canada, at least Candadian TV does not suffer this to the extent we do.
The US athletes have also behaved in a manner that I consider inapproriate for someone representing their nation. THe best examples of this were in the opening ceremonies of the Athens games when the US athletes marched in, most did not behave with decorum, but rather did things like "Flash Gangsign: to the cameras as well as mug for any camera they could find. Particulalry the Basketball players who were seeking to improve their marketability. The opening ceremony of the last games convinced me to not watch much more.
That last comment being said, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the US players entrance this time in Beijing. WHile they still did much "Mugging" and could not seem to keep ranks, at least they wore their hats on correctly by and large, and behaved themselves much better than Athens and Sydney. Someone must have put the word out.
Now if only someone could convince NBC to focus on the event, not the human interest crap.
Regarding the opening ceremony, halfway through it I seemed to find something in the back of my distant memory that the ceremony reminded me of. Then it came to me - Logans Run. Hard to explain, but the sea of humanity just took me back to that 1970's sci fi classic.
I stayed up late and was able to put the DVR to great use. (I had never heard of some of the participating countries.)
The ceremony was simply spectacular - the drummers, the undulating printing blocks, the oarsmen, the dancers in lit costumes. Then, when you think it couldn't be topped, the gymnast "runs" around the top of the stadium to light the Olympic cauldron.
Biggest "huh?" was when Bob Costas said, in effect, no matter what one thinks about the Chinese government, the opening ceremony was spectacular. Didn't need that qualifier.
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. - George Bernard Shaw, 1944
I had "checked" the box saying I would watch very little...I, too, grew up watching them each year they were held, but have not seen them much in the last few years. My local radio station had sent me an email regarding the same subject so I turned them on. WOW, am I impressed. Each segment topped the last one...I was disappointed my husband and son were not available to see them (they were up flying).
The sheer volume of people, the creative thought, and the skill involved took my breath away. Guess I will have to stay tuned. :)
I am sorry but if Canada and the UK can broadcast them live what is NBC's excuse? I had to find it online from a third partywho was streaming Canada's CBC coverage. I watched them at 8am Friday Morning (8pm China Time), heh. NBC should get its act together. I heard that they are not going to stream live major events online, what a load of crap.
I have been wondering this for YEARS. NBC should absolutely carry the Olympics real-time!
Do you have a link for that CBC coverage?
Another problem I have is their absolute refusal to carry USA basketball. They would only show 10 minutes of a basketball game of Dream Team I, and then you would see Bob Costas smugly say "we aren't carrying it anymore; we think you know how it will turn out." Hey Bob!!! It wasn't ABOUT THAT. I wanted to see how those legends would play together. And oh yeah, me being the Olympic Nationalist that I am, I wanted to see the entire world get completely destroyed by our guys. So I don't care what YOU or NBC thinks...SHUT UP and give us what we want!!!
IMHO, Olympic coverage was much better when ABC was carrying it, even if that happened last (in the case of the Summer Games) in 1984.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Well, the commercials so far have been UNBEARABLE. Five minutes of ceremony, followed by two minutes of commercials. Disgraceful. Couldn't they have done a half-hour, and then five minutes? Sheesh.
As for Costas, tough for me to really dislike him: he went to my high school, and was friends with one of my older brothers. ns
No commercials, although there were a couple that I stopped and watched. One good one by GE (dragon heated hot tub) and one not so much (100 sumo wrestlers flying). I was floored by the opening ceremonies but the march of nations was a little boring (I went to sleep.) I thought it was magnificent, but as usual the commentary was insipid.
Call me crazy but to me the Parade of Nations is just about my favorite part of the opening ceremonies.
Are you guys and gals watching a replay somewhere I am not aware of? (I know a lot of you are using DVRs...)
Oh, and Dr Liberty...I am an Olympic Nationalist myself. I want the organizing committee to run out of American flags for medal ceremonies. If they are using CD players still for the anthems (doubt it), I want the CD with The Star Spangled Banner to melt in the player from overplaying. I want nothing short of total American domination of this and every other Olympic Games.
One more thing...sorry, have to yell here...
IF THE USA DOES NOT WIN GOLD IN BASKETBALL, THESE OLYMPICS ARE A TRAVESTY. THAT GOLD MEDAL IS ALWAYS OURS TO LOSE!!!
(I was furious when we got a BRONZE in Athens...)
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Noel - Indeed, the commercials have been a painful thing. I have seen every opening ceremony, as of tonight, since 1988, and I can't remember them being this bad.
I have a habit that is unique to me, in my family, and one they ALL find absolutely irritating: talking back to the TV. Yeah, I know, they can't hear me, but it relieves stress. It's that or destroy the TV:-). Anyways, I am at home, relaxing in the middle of a move (again), and I can't tell you how many times my mother went to the living room to see what I was yelling at. Why was I yelling? Nine times out of ten, it was because of some idiotic statement uttered by Bob Costas. (Though I certainly respect why you'd look at him differently!)
Another thing I do that is unique in my family: watch as much of the Olympics as possible. I have been doing that since my early teens. I decided to watch the Calgary Games on a lark, during my formative years (as I like to call them). The Seoul Games that year were a bit more meaningful as my father was down the road from them that year while still in the Army. Ever since I have made it a point to grab as much coverage as possible.
An interesting, but scathing, article on the IOC and the Olympics appear in the latest edition of Foreign Policy if you wish to take a gander. I'd link to them, but normally the "Think Again" feature where the aritcle is found requires a fee.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
They took down the CBC links I was using but only near the end of the ceremonies. You could probably find streams online if you wanted but the ceremonies are over now. NBC's site is much better than in '04 as they have a tremendous amount live online but if it is not 100% then that needs to be fixed and I sure as hell do not want to be forced to watch their dumb ass annoucers give commentary all day instead of seeing the damn events.
I concur 100% on USA Basketball only this year we have no height and no shooters! '04 part 2? I hope not but this does not look good.
This is the freakin Olympics! I want to stream any and all of it in real time online, they could monetize that and make billions. If NBC does not know how maybe they should give the the online rights to Google.
PopTech - The sad thing is that I suspect that, now that I think on it, that the obstacle to streaming coverage just might be the IOC not getting in on the action monetarily. The IOC is a HUGE racket as we all know. But you're right; they can and should be streamed. And carried real-time.
One thing I find very unnerving about the basketball squad - Jason Kidd. He has looked simply awful. And you are right - you HAVE to have shooters in international competition. Scary business there. Nonetheless, I still have an attitude that the gold is ours to lose in basketball.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
I trust his court judgement better than many point guards. Kidd is still #4 in the league in assists. We have the top three out of four (Nash is Canadian) assist leaders in the NBA on the team. I know him and Wade will play hard every minute.
I believe you have to have shooters period (as in Bird, Mullins and Reggie Miller). The NBA has become an ESPN highlight reel. Irony is most of the best shooters in the league now are foreign.
"What you thought about NBA players may not be true"
This is a 2 + 1/2 hour series about the Men's USA Basketball team and how their devasting defeat in '04 completely changed the make up and character of the team. Surprisingly patriotic which Coach K has a lot to do with. I was impressed in Coach K bringing in the military to talk to the players and having them exhibition for the troops.
So I was swimming with my son a few days ago and he said he wanted to be in the Olympics. He asked how he could get to play in the Olympics.
I told him it takes a great deal of practice and dedication...
or a lot of steroids.
So I went out to the barn later that day and got some of the medicine we use for the horses and gave him a shot. (Needle was a bit bigger than he was used to, but after a bit of screaming he got used to it.) I figured, why not? Doesn't seem to have done the Chinese women swimmers any harm.
This morning he was out in the field eating clover.
I have trouble encouraging my son to eat vegies...do you think it would work for him too? The problem where I live tho' is the desert....not much clover here in the Sonoran Desert. Those cacti would cause a problem. LOL
is skipped on our remote. . . only golf tournaments are DVR'd. Can NOT imagine anything that would entice us to have to listen to the insipid commentators, with their knowledge of 'stories' rather than sports. I'm sure that if something really important results from the games, it'll be played ad nauseum on YOUTUBE. I consider NBC in the tank for the people who hate my country and refuse to provide them with any support.
There is already controversy over letting a woman carry the flag for Iran...how DARE SHE!
Iranian religious figures have criticised that Olympic female rower
Homa Hosseini was chosen as the flagbearer of Iran, calling the move a
'heresy'.
"To make a woman march with the flag of the Islamic Republic in
Beijing, is pure heresy and shows total disobedience of the laws
mandated by our spiritual guides," said Seyye Ahmad Elmalhoda, leader
of Friday prayers in Iran's holy city of Mashad.
"To make this woman march means to openly declare war [boy, everything is war to these people] to our
religious values. Whoever is responsible for this unforgivable act, he
should know that this gesture constitutes an obstacle for the
'appearance' of Mahdi," said Elmalhoda.
I was thinking much the same thing, too much commercials, especially during the march. Did they even have commercials during the excruciatingly bombastic ceremony? I don't remember seeing any. Why couldn't they do the whole thing commercial-free? They would have plenty of time to make up the loss during the rest of the games, and earned some goodwill in the process. Yes, I'm probably the only one who got bored with the extremly overlong ceremony. And I was surprised by the prominent presence of the PRA (goose stepping and EVERYTHING!). Costas mention of them was spot on, though. He said something to the effect of "The State is responsible for raising and protecting the children." I just found the whole thing overdone and overlong. Why does it have to be that way?
Also, am I the only one here who likes Bob Costas? I like listening to his radio show on Sundays, and when he did an NFL game with Olbermann last year, you could see the look on his face every time Olby went on one of his rants - "WTF is WRONG with you?" Priceless.
...looks like Texas Stadium after it dropped acid and gained 50 tons. Looks good at night, anyway... the drummers at the beginning were the best thing going....sure, the other dancers and Sara Brightman singing with that...dude...who was wearing a t-shirt (???) were ok but the 2,008 drummers are the pimp mackerals of the opening ceremony. The guy sprinting near the ceiling with the torch was cool but I just kept waiting for him to mess things up (he seemed to have a couple of gaffs with the harness)...I just wanted him to light the damn thing already.... -As much as I love hockey, I prefer the Summer Olympics because I don't need to endure figure skating or (even worse) 'skating & dancing' (whatever that's called)
...for baseball, seems he knows it well. For a big-money liberal, he's okay. His dry sense of humor makes him tolerable. But jeez, when he and Matt Lauer went on about the showpiece being about global warming (the thing with the schoolchildren in the center, amidst storms and chaos), I wanted to barf. I don't think the bowl-haircuts are all that concerned about their carbon footprints or using environmentally sound lightbulbs....maybe it was just the artist's way of saying "please let there be no more major volcanic eruptions for the next 2,000 years"
I indeed noticed the presence of the PLA during the opening ceremonies and their place of prominence in raising the Olympic flag. Hmmmm. Aren't the Olympics envisaged as a peace movement? Didn't the IOC CRY and HOWL at the use of Army Rangers for portions of the opening ceremonies in 1996? (But...NOT A PEEP about this, I note...)
Sorry, but Bob Costas is a grating idiot. He is an obsessed numbers guy and is a baseball snob (among other innovations he hates, he cannot stand the baseball playoff wild card). Also, whenever he does the announcments, he comes off as a preaching, pompous know-it-all. Hearing his preaching to us about what WE should take from the Torino Olympics towards the end there was just too much; I almost lost the TV over that, as I nearly tossed it from my window. If he never announced another sporting event again, of any sort, the Olympics might be somewhat enjoyable as far as announcing goes.
The Olympics are now under way in Beijing. May the people of Beijing gt thoroughly sick of hearing The Star Spangled Banner. May the Beiing Olympic Committee run out of U.S. flags for themedal ceremonies! USA! USA!! USA!!!
Too many friggin' commercials. But that's what DVR is for. LOL!
Aside from that, the opening ceremonies were nothing short of amazing. The synchronization was what appealed to me, but the other aspects of it were appealing as well. How about those drums? The ceremonies were insane, and very well done.
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Comments Policy
Olympics
August 9, 2008 - 00:32 ET by Noel SheppardNBers,
First, I must say I was surprised by the results of yesterday's poll: over 50 percent of you aren't going to watch the Olympics at all?
Wow. The Olympics have been part of my life since I was a child. Some of my greatest memories with my family, especially my mother, are watching the Olympics. This is a tradition I've carried on with my kids. I will miss VERY LITTLE of these games, and will love every second.
As for the Opening Ceremony...WOW! How astounding. Those that missed it missed quite the spectacle, like nothing I've ever seen.
As the parade of athletes begins -- I'm three hours behind -- I can only hope I'll be able to see the two American athletes I know and have met that are competing here.
Good Luck Dusty and Jesse! ns
Noel
August 9, 2008 - 00:34 ET by shawn228I have it recording on my Comcast DVR and I am looking very forward to the US of A kicking a$$.
Real life video games are cool
Olympic Observations
August 9, 2008 - 00:52 ET by UnsaneFor whatever reason, the site won't let me respond to Noel, so I'll respond to Shawn:-).
Here are my observations:
1) The coolest opening ceremonies EVER were the 1988 opening ceremonies in Seoul. For those who don't remember or don't know, it will probably be one of the last games where live doves are used. The reason: half of the flock decided to perch themselves in the torch and were STILL perched there when the flame was lit. As a middle schooler, watching snow white doves turn black in an instant was utterly hilarious (we are ALL Beavis and Butt-head at some point in our lives!!!)! I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my early teens. OK, so I guess my sense of humor has always been warped... :-)
2) I noticed the IOC threw an absolute fit over the use of Army Rangers for some portions of the opening ceremonies in Atlanta in 1996. (They pleaded for the Rangers to not perform their contribution in uniform. They didn't.) But I don't think the guys who raised the Olympic flag were members of the local Beijing Boy Scout troop.
3) Do not get me wrong here...the story behind the nine-year-old boy who was walking alongside Yao Ming when the Chinese athletes entered the stadium was inspiring, and the fact that he was put on center stage like that was simply great. But was I the only one who noticed the Chinese flag he was carrying was upside down?
4) This will be an interesting Games for me; I was in Beijing in 2005 and have pictures of me standing by the Olympic countdown clock near Tiananmen Square.
5) Sorry, NBC, China is NOT the world's third largest economy. That news might be of some surprise to Berlin. And Paris. Perhaps even Ottawa. And the editorial staff of The Economist. And the roughly 80% of the Chinese population still engaged in agriculture on land they do not own.
6) I cannot friggin stand Bob Costas. Or for that matter NBC Olympic coverage. But at least Katie Cupcake wasn't there to make the opening ceremonies excruciatingly painful this time.
That being said:
The Olympics are now on in Beijing. May the people of Beijing get positively sick of hearing the Star Spangled Banner because it gets played so many times! May the Beijing Organizing Committee run out of U.S. flags for medal ceremonies!! USA! USA!! USA!!!
I had to laugh
August 9, 2008 - 01:12 ET by DEVILDOCMOMwhen I heard costas or lauer comment something to the effect that the Chinese people had such freedom of choice since the mid 1980's...oh yeah, those free Communist countries and their freedom of choice. Well, they did say the Chinese people could wear colors now.
China was preaching global warming according to Costas
August 9, 2008 - 02:46 ET by Daniel BakerMaybe they will use global warming to cripple us while they keep polluting
John McCain 2008 Protect Traditional Marriage
Traditional Marriage is not "Divisive" Obama.
Isn't it the truth!
August 9, 2008 - 13:52 ET by DEVILDOCMOMDidn't you have to laugh when you heard of all the pollution in the air in China and the restrictions on the citizens...oh, do you think our pollution is working it's way to Beijing...LOL.
last use of live doves
August 9, 2008 - 01:20 ET by Dr_LibertyI didn't know that the last use of live doves for an Olympics was in 1988.
Are they using dead doves now? I could imagine that they wouldn't fly as far... but with enough gunpowder anything is possible.
<insert witty signature here>
More on the doves
August 9, 2008 - 01:28 ET by UnsaneI barely saw the Barcelona Games much to my disappointment due to me being a busy, industrious teenager at the time...they MAY have used live doves. I am not sure. Atlanta featured a bunch of schoolchildren carrying paper doves mounted on long sticks, much like a stiffer variation of a kite. IIRC, both Sydney, Athens, and now Beijing featured images of doves.
Hence my statement about how Seoul may have been the last Games to feature the use of real, live doves for the opening ceremonies.
I don't think the doves have ever been featured for the Winter Games just because...well, it's the Winter Games.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Unsane
August 9, 2008 - 01:33 ET by shawn228and what is the name of that real cool city that will hosting the next winter games?:-)
Real life video games are cool
Kamloops?
August 9, 2008 - 01:49 ET by Dr_LibertyWill it be Kamloops?
<insert witty signature here>
You got me!
August 9, 2008 - 02:15 ET by UnsaneGee, Shawn, I don't know. Let me go to my fridge and peruse my fridge magnets!
Hmmm, still don't know. I'll check my workout t-shirts!
(Actually, I went there the first time just WEEKS after they got picked.)
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Bob Costas is so dumb
August 9, 2008 - 01:22 ET by Dr_LibertyI can't stand Costas either. His voice just screams out "patronizing." It is so funny, though, how he says the most idiotic things with such authority.
It gets my goat even more given that Costas is supposedly a conservative.
<insert witty signature here>
Actually he describes
August 9, 2008 - 09:48 ET by muh-oonActually he describes himself as a liberal. If he is calling himself liberal he is probably socialist or just this side of communist. I used to occasionally hear the end of his radio show on sundays when I was waiting for Drudge to come on.
Noel: In the poll yesterday
August 9, 2008 - 01:06 ET by BDNoel: In the poll yesterday I must confess I said I would watch very little of the Olympics.
THere are a couple of reasons for this:
That last comment being said, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the US players entrance this time in Beijing. WHile they still did much "Mugging" and could not seem to keep ranks, at least they wore their hats on correctly by and large, and behaved themselves much better than Athens and Sydney. Someone must have put the word out.
Now if only someone could convince NBC to focus on the event, not the human interest crap.
Regarding the opening ceremony, halfway through it I seemed to find something in the back of my distant memory that the ceremony reminded me of. Then it came to me - Logans Run. Hard to explain, but the sea of humanity just took me back to that 1970's sci fi classic.
I lacked the stamina to
August 9, 2008 - 00:59 ET by JerI lacked the stamina to last through the parade of nations--giving up somewhere around Gabon--but the preceding festivities were simply spectacular.
The show will be repeated on NBC at 2:30 a.m. eastern time, and I would definitely recommend all who can to watch or record.
Jer
kudos to director/creator Zhang Yimou
August 9, 2008 - 01:37 ET by mom_roxI stayed up late and was able to put the DVR to great use. (I had never heard of some of the participating countries.)
The ceremony was simply spectacular - the drummers, the undulating printing blocks, the oarsmen, the dancers in lit costumes. Then, when you think it couldn't be topped, the gymnast "runs" around the top of the stadium to light the Olympic cauldron.
Biggest "huh?" was when Bob Costas said, in effect, no matter what one thinks about the Chinese government, the opening ceremony was spectacular. Didn't need that qualifier.
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw, 1944
Wooo
August 9, 2008 - 12:27 ET by maryerinI stayed up late watching it too!
I thought the coolest part was when the torch bearer ran across the top of the stadium!
The big print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.
Fulton
J. Sheen
Fabulous
August 9, 2008 - 01:05 ET by DEVILDOCMOMI had "checked" the box saying I would watch very little...I, too, grew up watching them each year they were held, but have not seen them much in the last few years. My local radio station had sent me an email regarding the same subject so I turned them on. WOW, am I impressed. Each segment topped the last one...I was disappointed my husband and son were not available to see them (they were up flying).
The sheer volume of people, the creative thought, and the skill involved took my breath away. Guess I will have to stay tuned. :)
NBC Sucks - They did not have the ceremonies live
August 9, 2008 - 01:06 ET by PopularTechI am sorry but if Canada and the UK can broadcast them live what is NBC's excuse? I had to find it online from a third partywho was streaming Canada's CBC coverage. I watched them at 8am Friday Morning (8pm China Time), heh. NBC should get its act together. I heard that they are not going to stream live major events online, what a load of crap.
American fans angered by Olympic ceremony TV blackout
The Anti 'Man-Made' Global Warming Resource
More Olympian Ranting
August 9, 2008 - 01:21 ET by UnsaneI have been wondering this for YEARS. NBC should absolutely carry the Olympics real-time!
Do you have a link for that CBC coverage?
Another problem I have is their absolute refusal to carry USA basketball. They would only show 10 minutes of a basketball game of Dream Team I, and then you would see Bob Costas smugly say "we aren't carrying it anymore; we think you know how it will turn out." Hey Bob!!! It wasn't ABOUT THAT. I wanted to see how those legends would play together. And oh yeah, me being the Olympic Nationalist that I am, I wanted to see the entire world get completely destroyed by our guys. So I don't care what YOU or NBC thinks...SHUT UP and give us what we want!!!
IMHO, Olympic coverage was much better when ABC was carrying it, even if that happened last (in the case of the Summer Games) in 1984.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Uns
August 9, 2008 - 01:26 ET by Noel SheppardUns,
Well, the commercials so far have been UNBEARABLE. Five minutes of ceremony, followed by two minutes of commercials. Disgraceful. Couldn't they have done a half-hour, and then five minutes? Sheesh.
As for Costas, tough for me to really dislike him: he went to my high school, and was friends with one of my older brothers. ns
That's the advantage of having a DVR Noel,
August 9, 2008 - 01:50 ET by IamTinmanNo commercials, although there were a couple that I stopped and watched. One good one by GE (dragon heated hot tub) and one not so much (100 sumo wrestlers flying). I was floored by the opening ceremonies but the march of nations was a little boring (I went to sleep.) I thought it was magnificent, but as usual the commentary was insipid.
Tinman
August 9, 2008 - 01:54 ET by Noel SheppardTinman,
I don't have a DVR on my HD dish. Only the analog one. One of the disadvantages of watching in HD. ns
Coke commercial
August 9, 2008 - 01:54 ET by Dr_LibertyI really liked the Coke commercial that featured the Special Olympics.
And by the way, first medal was awarded to the Czech Republic in women's air rifle. Chinese finished fifth, just behind our American hope.
<insert witty signature here>
Various Olympian Rambles
August 9, 2008 - 02:00 ET by UnsaneCall me crazy but to me the Parade of Nations is just about my favorite part of the opening ceremonies.
Are you guys and gals watching a replay somewhere I am not aware of? (I know a lot of you are using DVRs...)
Oh, and Dr Liberty...I am an Olympic Nationalist myself. I want the organizing committee to run out of American flags for medal ceremonies. If they are using CD players still for the anthems (doubt it), I want the CD with The Star Spangled Banner to melt in the player from overplaying. I want nothing short of total American domination of this and every other Olympic Games.
One more thing...sorry, have to yell here...
IF THE USA DOES NOT WIN GOLD IN BASKETBALL, THESE OLYMPICS ARE A TRAVESTY. THAT GOLD MEDAL IS ALWAYS OURS TO LOSE!!!
(I was furious when we got a BRONZE in Athens...)
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Noel, more on the Games
August 9, 2008 - 01:51 ET by UnsaneNoel - Indeed, the commercials have been a painful thing. I have seen every opening ceremony, as of tonight, since 1988, and I can't remember them being this bad.
I have a habit that is unique to me, in my family, and one they ALL find absolutely irritating: talking back to the TV. Yeah, I know, they can't hear me, but it relieves stress. It's that or destroy the TV:-). Anyways, I am at home, relaxing in the middle of a move (again), and I can't tell you how many times my mother went to the living room to see what I was yelling at. Why was I yelling? Nine times out of ten, it was because of some idiotic statement uttered by Bob Costas. (Though I certainly respect why you'd look at him differently!)
Another thing I do that is unique in my family: watch as much of the Olympics as possible. I have been doing that since my early teens. I decided to watch the Calgary Games on a lark, during my formative years (as I like to call them). The Seoul Games that year were a bit more meaningful as my father was down the road from them that year while still in the Army. Ever since I have made it a point to grab as much coverage as possible.
An interesting, but scathing, article on the IOC and the Olympics appear in the latest edition of Foreign Policy if you wish to take a gander. I'd link to them, but normally the "Think Again" feature where the aritcle is found requires a fee.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
NBC has been hunting down links all day
August 9, 2008 - 01:57 ET by PopularTechThey took down the CBC links I was using but only near the end of the ceremonies. You could probably find streams online if you wanted but the ceremonies are over now. NBC's site is much better than in '04 as they have a tremendous amount live online but if it is not 100% then that needs to be fixed and I sure as hell do not want to be forced to watch their dumb ass annoucers give commentary all day instead of seeing the damn events.
I concur 100% on USA Basketball only this year we have no height and no shooters! '04 part 2? I hope not but this does not look good.
This is the freakin Olympics! I want to stream any and all of it in real time online, they could monetize that and make billions. If NBC does not know how maybe they should give the the online rights to Google.
The Anti 'Man-Made' Global Warming Resource
Yet more Olympian ramblings
August 9, 2008 - 02:09 ET by UnsanePopTech - The sad thing is that I suspect that, now that I think on it, that the obstacle to streaming coverage just might be the IOC not getting in on the action monetarily. The IOC is a HUGE racket as we all know. But you're right; they can and should be streamed. And carried real-time.
One thing I find very unnerving about the basketball squad - Jason Kidd. He has looked simply awful. And you are right - you HAVE to have shooters in international competition. Scary business there. Nonetheless, I still have an attitude that the gold is ours to lose in basketball.
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Jason Kidd may turn out to be blessing
August 9, 2008 - 03:38 ET by PopularTechI trust his court judgement better than many point guards. Kidd is still #4 in the league in assists. We have the top three out of four (Nash is Canadian) assist leaders in the NBA on the team. I know him and Wade will play hard every minute.
I believe you have to have shooters period (as in Bird, Mullins and Reggie Miller). The NBA has become an ESPN highlight reel. Irony is most of the best shooters in the league now are foreign.
The Anti 'Man-Made' Global Warming Resource
USA Basketball - Road to Redemption
August 9, 2008 - 20:06 ET by PopularTechUSA Basketball - Road to Redemption
"What you thought about NBA players may not be true"
This is a 2 + 1/2 hour series about the Men's USA Basketball team and how their devasting defeat in '04 completely changed the make up and character of the team. Surprisingly patriotic which Coach K has a lot to do with. I was impressed in Coach K bringing in the military to talk to the players and having them exhibition for the troops.
The Anti 'Man-Made' Global Warming Resource
Pop tech, yea they have..
August 9, 2008 - 02:24 ET by upcountrywaterI linked some china 080808 stuff here, wonder how long this will be linkable, not nbc
Liberals62%
IranianUranium
Bike road race
August 9, 2008 - 11:33 ET by upcountrywaterthe link above still works
heres the bike road race start
Liberals62%
IranianUranium
why bother with live ceremonies
August 9, 2008 - 01:24 ET by Dr_Libertyif they only use dead doves?
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Dead Doves in the Olympics
August 9, 2008 - 01:39 ET by UnsaneOh, how funny it would be if at some point during an Olympic opening ceremony a guy pushed a wheelbarrow full of dead doves through the stadium. :-)
Look, my sense of humor has always been...well, kinda...DARK, okay???
Whoever casts a vote for Barack Obama is nothing more than a common thief. Whoever fails to vote against him is nothing more than a moral coward.
Cool to see Iraq and Afghanistan
August 9, 2008 - 01:26 ET by Dr_Libertyin the parade of nations.
<insert witty signature here>
Funny Olympic Story
August 9, 2008 - 01:31 ET by Dr_LibertySo I was swimming with my son a few days ago and he said he wanted to be in the Olympics. He asked how he could get to play in the Olympics.
I told him it takes a great deal of practice and dedication...
or a lot of steroids.
So I went out to the barn later that day and got some of the medicine we use for the horses and gave him a shot. (Needle was a bit bigger than he was used to, but after a bit of screaming he got used to it.) I figured, why not? Doesn't seem to have done the Chinese women swimmers any harm.
This morning he was out in the field eating clover.
At least it got him to eat his vegetables.
<insert witty signature here>
Gosh,
August 9, 2008 - 13:57 ET by DEVILDOCMOMI have trouble encouraging my son to eat vegies...do you think it would work for him too? The problem where I live tho' is the desert....not much clover here in the Sonoran Desert. Those cacti would cause a problem. LOL
out in the field eating
August 9, 2008 - 14:14 ET by bigtimerout in the field eating clover....
...ROFL!
Some of you guys/gals are hilarious today!
Thanks for the much needed laughter....
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Hard to believe...
August 9, 2008 - 01:33 ET by Dr_Libertythat the French have ever won an Olympic medal.
And wow! does Sarkozy have a big snoz!!!
<insert witty signature here>
Team USA
August 9, 2008 - 01:42 ET by Dr_Libertyjust received a HUGE applause when they entered the arena.
EXCELLENT!
I'm feeling particularly jingoistic tonight.
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Republic of Evil puts on a good show
August 9, 2008 - 02:40 ET by Daniel BakerHow many died for it again?
John McCain 2008 Protect Traditional Marriage
Traditional Marriage is not "Divisive" Obama.
Is it just me, or does
August 9, 2008 - 05:13 ET by Jack BauerIs it just me, or does anyone else think that stadium looks like a hideous concrete monstrosity?
USA's first gold
August 9, 2008 - 05:16 ET by Jack BauerAnd the first gold in the 2008 Olympics goes to...
John Edwards in the Avoiding Reporters Marathon, which has been running for over a year!
NBC
August 9, 2008 - 07:23 ET by kiwikitis skipped on our remote. . . only golf tournaments are DVR'd. Can NOT imagine anything that would entice us to have to listen to the insipid commentators, with their knowledge of 'stories' rather than sports. I'm sure that if something really important results from the games, it'll be played ad nauseum on YOUTUBE. I consider NBC in the tank for the people who hate my country and refuse to provide them with any support.
Sick
August 9, 2008 - 08:26 ET by dronetekHow many Chineese had to lose their homes or lives to make that demonstration possible?
Iran let a woman carry flag. Did they get boo's?
August 9, 2008 - 08:35 ET by han_soloThere is already controversy over letting a woman carry the flag for Iran...how DARE SHE!
http://www.adnkronos...
Did IRAN get boos when they came out during the parade? I could have sworn I heard that. And Costas made some 'thats a different welcome' comment.
NBC
August 9, 2008 - 08:46 ET by jakotaI can't watch the Olympics this year. They're on NBC and because of Matthews, Olbermann, Lauer, Viera, Shuster, etal, I do not watch NBC ever!
Don't care won't watch.
August 9, 2008 - 09:13 ET by Pasco ConservativeDon't care won't watch. Two reasons NBC/MSNBC and the games are in China.
Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any
man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.
Commercials
August 9, 2008 - 10:45 ET by JeffWeimerI was thinking much the same thing, too much commercials, especially during the march. Did they even have commercials during the excruciatingly bombastic ceremony? I don't remember seeing any. Why couldn't they do the whole thing commercial-free? They would have plenty of time to make up the loss during the rest of the games, and earned some goodwill in the process. Yes, I'm probably the only one who got bored with the extremly overlong ceremony. And I was surprised by the prominent presence of the PRA (goose stepping and EVERYTHING!). Costas mention of them was spot on, though. He said something to the effect of "The State is responsible for raising and protecting the children." I just found the whole thing overdone and overlong. Why does it have to be that way?
Also, am I the only one here who likes Bob Costas? I like listening to his radio show on Sundays, and when he did an NFL game with Olbermann last year, you could see the look on his face every time Olby went on one of his rants - "WTF is WRONG with you?" Priceless.
Yes!!! too many commercials.
August 9, 2008 - 11:36 ET by shavingcreamI was thinking the same thing. NBC interrupted many amazing looking parts of the presentation. It was sickening.
the stadium
August 9, 2008 - 12:24 ET by mrbnatural...looks like Texas Stadium after it dropped acid and gained 50 tons. Looks good at night, anyway... the drummers at the beginning were the best thing going....sure, the other dancers and Sara Brightman singing with that...dude...who was wearing a t-shirt (???) were ok but the 2,008 drummers are the pimp mackerals of the opening ceremony. The guy sprinting near the ceiling with the torch was cool but I just kept waiting for him to mess things up (he seemed to have a couple of gaffs with the harness)...I just wanted him to light the damn thing already.... -As much as I love hockey, I prefer the Summer Olympics because I don't need to endure figure skating or (even worse) 'skating & dancing' (whatever that's called)
Costas is good
August 9, 2008 - 12:31 ET by mrbnatural...for baseball, seems he knows it well. For a big-money liberal, he's okay. His dry sense of humor makes him tolerable. But jeez, when he and Matt Lauer went on about the showpiece being about global warming (the thing with the schoolchildren in the center, amidst storms and chaos), I wanted to barf. I don't think the bowl-haircuts are all that concerned about their carbon footprints or using environmentally sound lightbulbs....maybe it was just the artist's way of saying "please let there be no more major volcanic eruptions for the next 2,000 years"
The PLA, the Olympics, hypocrisy, contradiction, Costas
August 10, 2008 - 15:35 ET by UnsaneI indeed noticed the presence of the PLA during the opening ceremonies and their place of prominence in raising the Olympic flag. Hmmmm. Aren't the Olympics envisaged as a peace movement? Didn't the IOC CRY and HOWL at the use of Army Rangers for portions of the opening ceremonies in 1996? (But...NOT A PEEP about this, I note...)
Sorry, but Bob Costas is a grating idiot. He is an obsessed numbers guy and is a baseball snob (among other innovations he hates, he cannot stand the baseball playoff wild card). Also, whenever he does the announcments, he comes off as a preaching, pompous know-it-all. Hearing his preaching to us about what WE should take from the Torino Olympics towards the end there was just too much; I almost lost the TV over that, as I nearly tossed it from my window. If he never announced another sporting event again, of any sort, the Olympics might be somewhat enjoyable as far as announcing goes.
The Olympics are now under way in Beijing. May the people of Beijing gt thoroughly sick of hearing The Star Spangled Banner. May the Beiing Olympic Committee run out of U.S. flags for themedal ceremonies! USA! USA!! USA!!!
Nothin changes
August 9, 2008 - 15:15 ET by cjkWow, our very own 1936 olympic games! In China! Who woulda thunk. ICABOD
The aerial shots of the
August 9, 2008 - 16:41 ET by SickofLibsThe aerial shots of the stadium look like a bedopan.
SoL, I think you are on to something
August 9, 2008 - 17:44 ET by upcountrywaterbedpan
bird nest close up
bird nest far away
wonder how it would hold up to, a shake my nest earthquake?
Liberals62%
IranianUranium
Opening ceremonies
August 10, 2008 - 02:10 ET by SchnikeysToo many friggin' commercials. But that's what DVR is for. LOL!
Aside from that, the opening ceremonies were nothing short of amazing. The synchronization was what appealed to me, but the other aspects of it were appealing as well. How about those drums? The ceremonies were insane, and very well done.
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