Check TSN and Sportsnet Brenda...it's on all three channels
Yeah, gotta purchase that, don't have it. Why isn't CBC or CTV broadcasting?
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!
Ah, found it... I just dont have TSN in HD
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.
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.
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...
Well Yogi, I disagree with most of your opinion, but that doesn't make you a bad Canadian.
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.