Unfortunately, last night’s Opening Ceremony was marred by the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili (21), an athlete from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, during a practice run on the luge earlier in the day.
Clearly this was a tragic event. But I’m glad the Olympic spirit rendered unthinkable all talk of showing respect for him by either canceling competition in this sport or making the luge slower (since Nodar was luging at 90mph when he lost control).
The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacque Rogue, decided instead that dedicating the Opening Ceremony to him would be a more fitting tribute.
That said, as Opening Ceremonies go, it got off to a rather quaint, perhaps even patronizing, start.
It might be helpful to know that the white folks who now own and run Canada finally apologized a couple years ago for the way they displaced, exploited and, in many cases, killed the aboriginal people of that country. (I know, you probably thought only the white folks who colonized America did that….)
The producers of this show probably thought it would be a fitting demonstration of that apology to proudly feature surviving aborigines (Indians) performing their native dances on this world stage.
Great! Except that this only begged the question: How many Indians do you suppose are on Canada’s Olympic team….? I bet you will not see a single one over the next couple weeks.
That said, the emotional highlight of the evening was easily the prolonged standing ovation Nodar’s surviving teammates received when Georgia was introduced during the parade of nations.
As for the rest of the ceremony, well, coming so close on the heel of the unprecedented show China put on for the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, it was fated to be underwhelming by comparison. And so it was – despite the best efforts of some of Canada’s most famous entertainers.
In fact, it seemed fitting that their elaborate plan to ignite the Olympic flame suffered an embarrassing electrical malfunction. O Canada….
I swear, as I was dozing off, I heard one of the NBC hosts, Matt Lauer or Bob Costas, snoring…. Just kidding; but what a snooze!
Although, to be fair, I thought the slam poet extolling the virtues of being Canadian and K.D. Lang singing a soulful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah did a lot to redeem the evening.
The good news is that “the Michael Phelps of these Games,” American skier Lindsey Vonn, has recovered sufficiently enough from a shin injury to remain favored to become the most decorated athlete (with five gold medals).
Of course, much of the media hype surrounding her also has to do with the fact that she’s probably the most attractive woman to ever compete in the signature event of the Winter Olympics: the downhill (with apologies to women’s figure skating: the sport as well as the cute girls who compete in it).
Let the games begin!
NOTE: It probably came as a pleasant surprise to many last night to learn that the person who represents the Queen as Canada’s head of state is a black woman from Haiti: Governor General Michaelle Jean.
Related commentaries:
Opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Summer Games
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