Pomp, Circumstance, and a Touch of Lameness

For some odd reason, I always make it a point to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Much like some people will slow down to get a good gander at an accident.

There were definitely some cool parts. Peter Gabriel singing "Imagine". The real-life re-enactment of Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" (luckily for the woman who was Venus, they decided to put some clothing on her). The Formula One Ferrari doing donuts on the ice. Pavarotti singing. The torch-lighting.

And, as predictible as ever, some really strange parts. A celebration of Italian culture that mostly involved people suspended from wires. Life-size plastic cows being pulled around the ice. The dresses that the sign-carriers wore. Speed skaters with fire packs on their backs. Normally I am a big fan of fire, but this was pretty lame.

And the piece de resistance, the parade of athletes. That wasn't lame in itself, but apparently the organizers chose to play American disco/pop hits from the 70's and 80's in the background. At one point, I turned to the person watching it with me and said, "If they play 'YMCA', I'm changing the channel." Which they did about 10 minutes later. So the American contribution to the ceremony was bad music. Nice.

Can't wait to see what they have planned for the closing ceremonies.