My Big Fat Greek Olympic Games...

[lifesaver]

I decided to start a thread here..

So who didnt want to bitch slap Tom Costas or Katie Courick for being stupid bitches during the openign ceremonies.

I am typing as I hear.

Saudi Arabi.. an anthipy towards womens rights and none of the 21 atheletes here are women.

Turkey.... "Not that cool of a reception for the turks. Greeces next door neighbor. A hostility that goes back to the Ottoman Empire that ruled greece for 6 centures. Turkeys prime minister is here and sends his well wishes to the greeks.

LAOS, "One of only 5 Communist Republics left in the World. Wo still knew there were communists. (nervous laughter by katie)

If someone said they might as well be in Timbuktu, they'd be in Moroco! hahha.

Imagine all those listening tonight, getting quite the geography lesson. As well as you and me katie. ahahhahh .

Mongolians, opting to leave the fur at home.

The Uraguans, with their monochromatic yellow jackets looking sharp. Looking very Regis Philbin. They are only fielding 15 atheletes.

Of the three-thousand languages spoken in the world, Papua New Ginea speaks 1,000. Makes intra-island language communications intertesting.

Macedonia, Interesting to note the positive reaction from the crowd to Macedonia. Greece actually has a region called Macedonia, and we didnt think the greeks would be supportive.

Ruwanda. The country we never thought wed ever hear of again. Especially after the genocide.

Seychelles, believed by some to be the original Garden of Eden!

Tajikistan, After 9/11 a staging ground for the actions of the millitary. Those are some beautiful costumes, huh? When youre in a getup like that, ya gotta pull it off with confidence.

Russia! Despite all the problems after the fall of communism and the economic collapse, the Russians have reamined a powerhouse.

And the greeks, who are known for their leather goods, including sandals and purses, which are a part of their costumes, such a part of the culture here.

Thats all I cared to comment on. I did feel like I needed glo sticks the entire time. And good for Bijork for getting work again. I was worried for her.

[moe.ron]

Wow, sound like they got the whole Olympic spirit down.

We get to hear and Australian, and British and a Greek commentating.

[mmcat]

considering it was tape delayed...the editing was weak. there should have been no reason to gloss over some of these countries. they could have taken it away from the fill at the start of the show.
it is almost feeling like hometown action is already starting up at nbc.

[smiley21]

Originally posted by mmcat
considering it was tape delayed...the editing was weak. there should have been no reason to gloss over some of these countries. they could have taken it away from the fill at the start of the show.
it is almost feeling like hometown action is already starting up at nbc.

i felt the same way!! i wanted to see the countries they skipped over.

i thought that the part with Bjork was cool. i like seeing that areial view of the blanket of the world that stretch over all the countries.


i was laughing when Greece came out. it was like watching the home team's entrance during the NBA finals.

[CASIGKAP]

For the most part I thought these Opening Ceremonies were dull. There were moments where it was interesting but then it would quickly lose its loss of life. I even changed at one point to watch Blue Collar TV. Git R Done!

Anyway, the commentating by Couric & Costas was pathetically BAD at best. If the network wants to know why the ratings on the Olympics have been down the past couple of Olympics, perhaps they should start looking at the commentating.

The parade of nations is a time for all the countries to show their pride not for some ignorant fool of a hack journalist to point out the morals or lack of them to the nation. What a bunch of asses.

However, this is my opinion of the games while I'm sure there are others who enjoyed the ceremonies. No pissing contests please.

[RACooper]

I don't know... but I enjoyed watching the opening cerimonies, and the commentary was interesting... of course I was watching the CBC broadcast and the commentary centred on which athletes were carrying the flags, and olympic trivia concerning each country as they entered the stadium.

Interesting to see the two Koreas marching as one again... Spain's athletes wandering all over the place... also the controversy over the Iranian athlete that was going to carry the flag but withdrew from the games when in protest over having to compete against an Israeli athlete... and of course the Greek olympian issue from the night before...

[AlphaSigOU]

Yep... I was disappointed with the 'color' commentary during the Parade of Nations. Who gives a rat's ass over whether some tin-pot dictator will pay $1,000,000 to the athlete from their country who medals at the Olympics? Or the flagbearer from Outer Bumfuckia wearing traditional dress more suited to cold climates than the hot Athens summer? BFD!

And I really didn't wanna hear about the fact that there are no women on the Saudi Olympic team. That's their culture, and they ain't gonna change at the drop of a hat.

What the f*ck happened to the taking of the athletes and officials oath-taking ceremony? Guess it wasn't important enough to show on TV. (The athletes and officials oath is taken after the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron.) And the symbolic release of the pigeons...? Ya gotta squeeze in a few more commercials, so I guess it ain't important.

THE ATHLETES' OLYMPIC OATH
(Recited by an athlete on the Greek Olympic Team.)

“In the name of all competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and
abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs,
in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.” - (Olympic Charter, 2003, p. 101)

THE OFFICIALS' OLYMPIC OATH
(Recited by a Greek sports official.)

“In the name of all the judges and officials, I promise that we
shall officiate in these Olympic Games with complete impartiality respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship.”




"Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." - The Olympic Charter, Fundamental Principles, 2.

[RACooper]

The Olympic Oath was shown... at least here... along with the entire opening ceremonies (thank God for an explaination of some of the symbolism).

I don't remember seeing the birds being released though... then again I was probibly distracted by the whole fireworks display with the encirlcing burst surrounding the stadium going faster and faster (thought that was cool).

All in all I was very happy with the coverage, other than some commercial breaks where I turned to the French coverage, and the commentary. The outfits that the athletes wore were interesting too... espically the flag bearer for Kasikstan (sp?)... wearing traditional dress and carrying the flag raised above his should in one hand, that would take some muscle power to keep up for the whole parade.

[navane]

Originally posted by lifesaver

Tajikistan, After 9/11 a staging ground for the actions of the millitary. Those are some beautiful costumes, huh? When youre in a getup like that, ya gotta pull it off with confidence.

Yeah, I thought that was kind of an odd thing to say too. I thought those particular costumes were beautiful!

.....Kelly

[navane]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
What the f*ck happened to the taking of the athletes and officials oath-taking ceremony? Guess it wasn't important enough to show on TV. (The athletes and officials oath is taken after the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron.)

Thank you!!!!!!!! At the end of the broadcast, the first thing I thought was, "What happened to the Olympic Oaths??" I had popped in and out of the kitchen a couple of times to fetch dinner and I thought I must have totally missed it.

.....Kelly

[moe.ron]

Our coverage comes from the European. We got to see the whole thing. It's nice that the commentators pretty much stick with cool info about the countries and does not mention anything political. The way it should be for the Olympic.

ETA: No adviertisements and live.

[wrigley]

It appears that NBC traded in the Olympic Oaths to make sure they got all the commericials in. Slick move

I was surprised to see USA athletes dressed more casually for the opening ceremonies when compared to other countries. It was a different approach.

Overall I enjoyed the opening ceremonies. I hope the games can continue without harm to the athletes and spectators. 1.5 billion dollars was spent on security alone. Let's hope the money was put to good use.

[navane]

Originally posted by wrigley
I was surprised to see USA athletes dressed more casually for the opening ceremonies when compared to other countries. It was a different approach.

I liked the uniforms!! They sure beat the dumpy tent-sized blazers and straw fedoras the athletes have worn in the past!


.....Kelly

[AOIIalum]

The NBC-HD broadcast of the opening ceremonies had Al Trautwig and Mary Carillo doing the commentary instead of Couric and Costas. It was so much better than the network broadcast!

Herman Frazier, the University of Hawaii Athletic Director, is the first Olympic gold medalist to serve as Chef de Mission for Team USA. I saw him on the network coverage last night, as well as some of the athletes with Hawaii ties.

They're making a big deal about Tom Pappas because he's a decathlete with Greek ties. I'd like to see Bryan whoop his butt.

I wish Katie and Bob coulda just shut up when Iraq and Afghanistan made their way into the stadium. Those were great moments.