I was going to post this a while ago, but since Dave got into a "let's clean out your crap from the closets" mood, I didn't have time to type it up this weekend.

I loved the opening ceremonies, I think Italy did a great job. I taped it, of course, since that's my family tradition - tape it, and never watch it again. Here's a couple things that stuck out at me:

- The whole thing had a Cirque de Soleil feel to it. But after some reflection, I realized that all opening ceremonies have the weird, otherworldly music and abstract acrobats doing weird things.

- I loved that they had people pulling around statues of cows. Reminds me of the Cows on Parade sculptures in Chicago a while ago. To make it even better, they had dancers come out dressed in cow-printed clothes. If they had udders on the women it would have been perfect, but then I realized that the pink crinoline under the women's skirts were representing udders. They don't miss a beat, do they?

- Carla Bruni looked beautiful, and her dress had a really futuristic shine to it. For some reason, her name sounds really familiar, but I can't place it.

- I felt bad for the little girl who sang, she looked a bit terrified. I always wonder if they have a spare kid in the back or something to take the place of the original kid if he/she freaks out before the ceremonies.

- There was a point in the ceremony where the dancers formed an "XX". For some reason, the placement of the XX and the lower and upper lights of the stage made it look a little satanic.

- The chicks who led out each country with they country's name on it had white, peaked dresses that were supposed to represent the Alps. To me, it resembled tufts of cool whip and made me very hungry.

- I'm happy that NBC made it a point not to skip televising any nations during the parade of nations. I remember watching the 1996 Olympics with my family, eagerly anticipating seeing the Philippines come up, and then as soon as we saw the sign for the Philippines, NBC cut to a commercial. We were pissed. What NBC failed to realize was that Filipinos are the second biggest Asian minority in the US, and they got a lot of flack for it. Sure, we're not an Olympic powerhouse, but give us a couple brief moments to be proud of our countrymen! It's a big deal for any immigrant community to see their home country being represented in the Olympics. Glad NBC realized that.

- We need to have an Olympics in Brazil. That would be CRAZY, but it would be such a great time for the athletes!

- I feel bad for Bob Costas and Brian Williams, having to spout off witty trivia to entertain us. However, I was a little annoyed when Bob said that Costa Rica had "no realistic shot for a medal". Hmph! Why say that? You could say something positive about the country or how it's incredible that they're even there.

- My favorite Costas story during the parade of ceremonies? The story of how a cross country skier from Kenya finished in twice the time that the gold medal winner finished, but when he arrived at the finish line, the gold medal winner was there, waiting for everyone to finish the race and congratulate them. He was so touched by that gesture that he named his firstborn son after the winner. *sniff* THAT'S the Olympics, folks!

- I loved the music they played during the parade of nations, as cheesey as it was. It was a weird blend of techno, 80's, disco and light metal.

- It was hard to find the athletes from each country that I was familiar with, everything went by so fast. It was great that they concentrated a lot on the US, I saw a lot of my favorite athletes. The snowboarders were so cute and goofy, mugging it up for the camera. Everyone looked so happy to be there, even Mr. Grumpypants Bode Miller, being a rebel and not wearing the beret.

- It must be the biggest rush to be walking into the Olympic stadium, as the home team, having the whole stadium cheer and sing when your team walks in. Italy got an amazing reception from the home crowd! For some reason, I was expecting there to be a lot of hot young Italian men on the team, but all I could see of the Italian team were hot young women and old men.

- Weirdest segment of the ceremonies - the Ferrari. It just didn't fit with the rest of the theme and seemed a bit out of place. But the guys in the audience sure seemed to like it!

- Am I the only one who misses Juan Antonio Samaranch, the old head Olympic Guy?

- When I'm 71 years old, I hope that I am as hot and sophisticated as Sophia Loren. She looked AMAZING! The choice of Susan Sarandon to carry in the Olympic flag was a little random to me, but oh well, I'm not the one picking the people.

- At some angles, Peter Gabriel looked like Boy George without makeup. I don't know why he was chosen to sing "Imagine", but he only did a so-so job of it. Don't get me wrong, I love his songs, but I just don't think he was the person to sing this particular song.

- I missed the lighting of the torch because Dave called and I was distracted. Hmph! I did see replays of it, though, and it looked really cool. However, my favorite lighting of the torch was when they had the archer light it, almost a decade ago. THAT was really cool.

- Ahh....having Pavoratti sing for the finale was awesome. I loved the backdrop with the chandelier, curtains and orchestra, and he picked the perfect song. So beautiful! However, I was distracted by how black his hair was, wondering the whole time if he colors it.

All in all, Italy put on a great show. Can't wait to see what they have in store for the closing ceremonies, now THAT will be fun!!!

Posted by Yano at February 13, 2006 12:32 PM

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