Winter Olympics: Torino 2006

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
Canada has a hard act to follow for the Opening Ceremonies for 2010.

I only that we take a lead from the Italians and for the Opening Ceremonies of 2010, use "cool" Canadian entertainment (which is, sadly, all too rare) such as Cirque du Soleil and don't embarrass ourselves with the likes such as those mugging fools, The Barenaked Ladies, etc.....oy....

Come on, eveyone loves Avril and Celine!!! I so hope they perform in 2010!!!


Today is Canada vs. Italy in women's hockey. I can't wait.

I will be watching hockey and speeding skating. Maybe some bobsleding.

[A Random DphiE]

i LOVED the ceremony.. HATED the commercial breaks.. i'm also a hardcore rooter of those countries with one or three delegates.. even though they probably have no chance of medaling.. you have to respect all the trouble they've gone through to get to that point... omg and i love how these EXTRA ordinary athletes leas such ordinary lives ( the venezuelan drexel professor!) i agree the torch lighting was phenomenal, and i loved luciano's performance although it seemed like he was lipsinging... but honestly i shed a tear [ok i balled] when they highlighted the kenyan athlete who named his firstborn after another competitor [ can't recall who ] who waited for him at the finish line at the last olympic games ...

i can't wait.. i have a schedule all planned out!!
i loveeeeeeeee the olympics!

:: i'm done gushing ::

btw: is Andrea Bocelli performing at the closing ceremonies?

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by A Random DphiE
...honestly i shed a tear [ok i balled] when they highlighted the kenyan athlete who named his firstborn after another competitor [ can't recall who ] who waited for him at the finish line at the last olympic games ...

OMG!!! This has to be my favourite Olympic moment (not the naming of the baby but the race). I cried at the last Olympic games when I saw this on TV. That was just great. Moments like that show the true spirit of the Olympics.

[polarpi]

Normally I don't watch the opening/closing ceremonies (I think the commercial breaks typically get me all mad and not wanting to watch them), but I watched ALMOST to the end last night and was in amazement of everything! (I missed the flame coming into the stadium and the torch lighting)

I also love seeing the countries with a small delegation (I guess those who aren't athletes are something like coaches, judges, etc, right?) and you always hope they'll do well, even if they're not considered to be a threat to the medals (I was with you A Random DPhiE and Lady Pi Phi about the Kenyan competitor naming his first born son after the gold medalist in his event - I think he was from Finland/Norway?)

It's funny to be sitting here and listening to Matt Vasgersian (however you spell his last name ) commenting on the Olympics and not Padres baseball!

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

I taped the opening ceremonies on NBC and then ended up watching them on CBC and I will say that it was much better on the Canadian station......

I always wanted to ride in a bobsled. I think that'd be so cool.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Originally posted by OTW
I always wanted to ride in a bobsled. I think that'd be so cool.

I knew a guy who was on the U.S. Olympic Bobsled team. He said it was hard work, but it was really cool.

So they gave out the first medals this morning.

I'm sorry, when I look at the different venues, how beautiful the opening ceremonies were...just the grand-ness of this year's host city...

WTF were they thinking when they decided to make the medals look like Compact Discs?

To the Olympic champion, we award you this gold CD....

[A Random DphiE]

Originally posted by OTW
So they gave out the first medals this morning.

I'm sorry, when I look at the different venues, how beautiful the opening ceremonies were...just the grand-ness of this year's host city...

WTF were they thinking when they decided to make the medals look like Compact Discs?

To the Olympic champion, we award you this gold CD....

each medal was handcrafted by italian artisians and took over 10 hours to make... and from what i heard, they are all different- each one depicts the sport it represented, i havent seen them yet though...

Originally posted by A Random DphiE
each medal was handcrafted by italian artisians and took over 10 hours to make... and from what i heard, they are all different- each one depicts the sport it represented, i havent seen them yet though...

The bronze medal winner in the Biathlon.

[bcdphie]

Yeah! Canada already has its first medal - a gold in women's moguls.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by OTW
So they gave out the first medals this morning.

I'm sorry, when I look at the different venues, how beautiful the opening ceremonies were...just the grand-ness of this year's host city...

WTF were they thinking when they decided to make the medals look like Compact Discs?

To the Olympic champion, we award you this gold CD....

Quoth the IOC :

The medals - gold, silver, and bronze - represent the highest levels of athletic achievement at the Games. The design of the medal varies with each Olympic Games and they are the responsibility of the host city's organizing committee. Olympic medals must be at least 60 millimeters in diameter and at least three millimeters thick. Gold and silver medals must be made of 92.5 percent pure silver; the gold medal must be gilded with at least six grams of gold.

(source: http://www.olympics.org.uk/olympicmo...icmovement.asp)

The Summer Olympics medals have largely been standardized in design since 1928, with the reverse of the medal reserved for the logo of the host city organizing committee, while the Winter Olympics medals are unique to each Olympiad.

Here's a pic of the Torino (Turin) Olympic medals:



Significance of the Torino Medals

Athletes placing in fourth through seventh place receive a certificate (the medalists receive both the medal and certificate); each athlete and official also receives a commemorative participation medal as well.

[DeltAlum]

A word about the commercial breaks. In many respects, they pay for the games. NBC pays hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights, which pay for the running of the Olympic committee, etc. If it weren't for TV dollars from all over the world, the committees couldn't exist.

At least this year, none of the ceremony was missed during the breaks because the networks now use a technology -- soft of like a super high quality TIVO -- so that they can basically stop playing, but continue recording and then go back and pick up at the point that they left the ceremony. It sort of elongates time.

We couldn't do that back in the days of video tape delays.

What a cool idea it would be if those "CD" size medals really were recording material and the athlete's win was recorded and played back by his/her medal.

Ain't electronics wonderful

[SapphireSphinx9]

opening ceremonies were good - loved the lighting of the torch!!

why is it that when they were dancing on stage, the camera men wanted to show the audience instead?? i wanna see the people make the man ski! lol

[RACooper]

Originally posted by SmartBlondeGPhB
I taped the opening ceremonies on NBC and then ended up watching them on CBC and I will say that it was much better on the Canadian station......

Mmmmm.... HDTV CBC Broadcast.... and as soon as the Olympics coverage ended today it was the Leafs! Ahhhh...