Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
QBC @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:27 am
Check TSN and Sportsnet Brenda...it's on all three channels
Brenda @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:34 am
Yeah, gotta purchase that, don't have it. Why isn't CBC or CTV broadcasting?
wildrosegirl @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:34 am
Mockingbird Mockingbird:
wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:
Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:
Don't good Canadians stay home to watch and go for supper some other night? 
No. But they did not sit here and shun the efforts of the thousands of people who put their heart and soul into the event when they watched the rebroadcast either.
I don't think anyone here is shunning the efforts of the hardworking people who made the show possible, but rather are critiquing the decisions as to what would take place during the show. I certainly applaud the many thousands of people and the man hours it takes to host an event of this magnitude, but that doesn't mean I have to like every aspect of it based simply on that. Have you never been to/seen an event whether a concert, play, sporting event etc. where you liked the whole show simply because it takes many people to pull it off? I would be willing to guess the answer would be no.
Re-read the first few posts on the last page. They're extremely negative. As I stated, you can't please everyone all of the time. I simply don't think it's necessary to nitpick every detail to death. Do I like every aspect of every event I attend? Of course not. But when I comment, I focus on the positive, not what I view as negative.
wildrosegirl @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:38 am
Brenda Brenda:
Yeah, gotta purchase that, don't have it. Why isn't CBC or CTV broadcasting?
TSN is streaming some of the events online. Might get lucky...
(if not, get your ass in your car and come watch 'em here
)
PostFactum @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:39 am
PimpBrewski123 PimpBrewski123:
wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:
Awwww... have to find vids of it. Missed it to go out for dinner. 
(Dinner was good though
)
(Dinner was good though
)What the
That musta been some real good dinner. Either way, opening ceremonies were ok, The National Anthem could have been much better. Could have been the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Crowd, they f'ing rock.
Canadians don't have tradition tu put the right hand on heart, when national anthem sounds? O_0
Brenda @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:42 am
wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:
Brenda Brenda:
Yeah, gotta purchase that, don't have it. Why isn't CBC or CTV broadcasting?
TSN is streaming some of the events online. Might get lucky...
(if not, get your ass in your car and come watch 'em here
)Haha, 'bout an 14 hour drive huh?
Alta_redneck @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:42 am
wildrosegirl wildrosegirl:
Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:
Don't good Canadians stay home to watch and go for supper some other night?
No. But they did not sit here and shun the efforts of the thousands of people who put their heart and soul into the event when they watched the rebroadcast either.
You lucked out with the rebroadcast didn't you.
No ones complaining about volunteers. I was disappointed in the mechanical aspect. Those that didn't work.
There's years of planning that go into building a 50 story building, you don't want to find out on opening day that there's problems with the elevators.
Yogi @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:51 am
Given the direction of this thread, perhaps it's time to include a simple poll: Rate The Opening Ceremony: Poor, Good, Excellent. Then, why you gave it the rating you did.
Poor
The opening was perfect and could be copied 'ver batim' for the '1st Nations Games' Steel totem poles and all!
Plain and simple, Nikki Yanofsky butchered the National Anthem
I'm not a fan of kd lang at all. Her singing sucks. That, and her "Beef Stinks" bullshit! (Having said that Her duette with Roy Orbison is one of the best I have ever heard!)
The diva: I honestly did not understand a single word she screeched!
The French stuff; Yes we have 2 official languages in Canada, but the common language of all the countries in attendance is English.
Lighting the torch; Now that could have been spectacular,but FAIL! Left Catrina 'standing there with her dick in her hands' as it were. But I'm sure she's thinking "Oh well, shit happens"! The amount of money and expertise that went into this defining moment only to have it become a National Embarrasment! Mark my words; This will become fodder for every comedian and talk show for years to come. I'll bet it gets mentioned by commentators at all the Oly games for years to come!
Gretzky; I could take or leave him as the choice. He hasn't lived in or done anything for Canada for over 20 years. Nonetheless, he could have shown a wee bit of enthusiasm. He did accept 'The honor''! To be fair, 'they' should have perhaps mounted a very large red/white/maple leaf umbrella over the back of the truck. He looked like a drowned rat, and about as pleased as one!
Brenda @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:01 pm
Ah, found it... I just dont have TSN in HD 
Scape @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:31 pm
I wouldn't be as harsh as Yogi. I would say it was fair.
The hydraulics for the torch failing was unfortunate and marred an otherwise well done ceremony. Even the Chiefs showing up late for their own show didn't really adversely effect the overall performance but you have to admit the whales were cool and the bear was neat. I can't believe how long the dancers had to dance for with all the athletes parading in, man they should get a gold medal for that!
I'm no KD land fan myself and I know for a fact that Cohen himself has pleaded for performers to stop doing renditions of the song hallelujah because it is ruining it but she did a great job. By the power of PVR I skipped the opera and the french singing and I agree that was a low point for me but not a black mark as I just couldn't understand it. I liked the beat poet, I heard him before but he really pulled that off nicely. The wheat fields and the Celtic fiddle dancing was ok but not enthralling.
Brenda @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:44 pm
I just want to make clear that the Olympic hymn (the opera singer) is something that they HAVE TO do. Just like the Anthem. It was not a choice.
Yogi @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:48 pm
Brenda Brenda:
I just want to make clear that the Olympic hymn (the opera singer) is something that they HAVE TO do. Just like the Anthem. It was not a choice.
OK. Tell me this; Was the Olympic hymm written and put to music originally with an opera singer in mind?
herbie @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:56 pm
I had to drive back to town and missed part of it, so I was switching between CTV and NBC. The Yanks were impressed, but I think they were expecting more of a welcome for their team. Don't realize they're a competitor and we don't like the politicize the Games as much, that Georgia got a standing O out of respect.
As for KD Lang, you're way off the mark! Her lifestyle and veggie status mean shit, she's one of the greatest singers to come out of this country, ever. With the emphasis on native culture we're lucky we weren't subjected to Buffy St Marie's huffing and puffing...
Alta_redneck @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:07 pm
Well Yogi, I disagree with most of your opinion, but that doesn't make you a bad Canadian. 
raydan @ Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:09 pm
Not to start an English/French war, but there were probably a lot of French Canadians watching the ceremony, I'm one of them and it was covered by French television stations.
I was happy but maybe a bit surprised to hear "Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin".
Tranlated to English "A little higher, a little farther", which is the Olympic's motto.
A bit of background on this song... written by a French Canadian in 1969, but not with the Olympics in mind, though.