Opening Ceremony

I cant say I've ever sat and watched an entire opening ceremony for the Olympics before, but last night was pretty well done. There were a lot of things I liked about it, and a few things that I thought were a little over the top, but hey, it's a showcase for Canada, so I'm gonna say it's okay to go a little over the top.

The lack of these 3
was refreshing.

Not that I particularly dislike the mascots or anything, in fact, I find Quatchi's boots and earmuffs hi-larious, but I was glad they kept it classier than that. Speaking of class, the Georgian team choosing to march and honor their fallen teammate to a standing ovation was great.

Having grown up in BC, I found a few things about the opening ceremonies a little suspect, but I'm gonna let it slide and not talk about those aspects. Because all in all, it was a spectacle, and I'm glad I sat down and watched the thing from start to finish. What they were able to accomplish visually in BC Place, having been inside BC Place a few times, it's not exactly esthetically pleasing at the best of times, was unbelievable - I had to shake my head in disbelief a few times as the cultural part of the ceremony was taking place. Although, I did have to laugh a little during the giant ho-down, mostly when Brian Williams said Ashley MacIsaac was playing his hit song "Devil in the Kitchen". Honestly Brian? I liked that song, but I'd hardly call it a hit, and furthermore, it came out almost 15 years ago.

Aaaaanyways, I thought the final part of the ceremony, regardless of the problems (you know, the part where the 4th cauldron didn't rise up, and the top-notch close-up of Steve Nash's WTF face) was cool - that's the first time they've ever lit an olympic cauldron indoors, so we got to see some history. I was hoping for someone a little more off-the-board to do the final lighting duties, but how can you go wrong with Gretz? You cant.

Speaking of things going wrong though, apparently the Men's Downhill that was scheduled to go this morning has been postponed due to the inclement weather. I know everyone's worried about the weather in Vancouver, and I know this is one of the warmest winters on record, but it's not that much warmer than normal. Normally there's very little snow in the greater Vancouver area, and when they were originally awarded the games, everyone knew this could be an issue.

This guy isn't worried.

And neither am I.

I wasn't feeling my usual Olympic spirit earlier this week, but after the opening ceremony last night, I'm totally geared up for the Games, and I dont think I'll be doing much of anything - except for watching all the coverage. Come on boys and girls, do us proud and bring home the hardware!