Various news reports, editorials and blogs have described the 2012 Olympics’ opening ceremony in London as “exuberant”, “rousing”, “dazzling”, and even “quirky”. Did you watch it? What did you think?
I couldn’t find any online source that said it was disappointing, or slow-moving, or lackluster. But those words would be more accurate for the event that I watched. (And as a disclaimer, I only watched it because it was my wife’s turn to have the remote control.) Nothing against Londoners; the city (and country) certainly has an amazing and intricate history, but… I kept feeling lost. I kept wondering why we were getting a choreographed history lesson of one nation as the opening ceremony for a collection of sporting events that involve the whole world.
And the next morning, I felt even more lost as I read the worldwide reports that universally lauded the event.
Apparently, the event continued long after I quit watching, and more interesting things happened later. Maybe I was spoiled by the spectacular ceremony in China four years ago (and no one reporting on the 2012 event had watched that one). Maybe I’m supposed to be more “dazzled” by British history and the amateurs who portray it in the Olympic Stadium.
Or maybe the Olympics themselves are just a worn-out event for me and I carried that lack of interest into the opening ceremony. Who knows?
Not logged in
In my view, the Olympics might be the most overrated athletic competition in history.
It’s certainly not up to par with any other televised athletic event I can think of, in terms of timing, information, excitement, commentary, etc. It feels like the broadcasters haven’t learned anything about covering sports — even though they’re often the same people who cover the other sports that make the Olympics look so boring…