Divisions and Precisions

Beware Falling Icicles

I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night. As much as I've always loved the Olympics, I think that may have been the first time I actually sat down and watched the whole opening ceremony of one. Oddly, I've never really been interested in the Summer Olympics -- when I think 'Olympics' I always think Winter Games. I guess part of that could be because of my secret obsession:

Figure skating.

I can remember adoring Dorothy Hamill when I was about seven or eight (I was only 4 when she competed in '76), and I can remember watching parts of the 1980 Lake Placid games. I remember watching Scott Hamilton skate in 1984. I remember the battle of the Brians. Katarina Witt was the Evil Soviet Spawn. Gary and I rooted wildly for Debi Thomas and got our hearts broken. Ironically, I didn't watch much of the whole Kerrigan/Harding fiasco, but I followed it on the news. 1998 was probably the first Winter Olympics I didn't know anything about at all. But I fear this year my obsession will come through loud and clear. Partly, of course, because I actually have cable this year, I'm sure.

So anyway, I watched the Opening Ceremony. And cried. I cried during "God Bless America". I cried when the WTC flag was brought in. Then all the ice skating started, and I giggled. In case you haven't heard, the theme for this year's games is "Light the Fire Within". To represent this, we got to see a small boy carrying a lantern, skating around and being menaced by other skaters dressed as trees, snowflakes and giant icicles until the Fire Within (a former Olympic skater whose name escapes me), dressed in orange-red, comes to save him. The icicle costumes were... questionable. There was the comment on the blog, which had me rolling, and later, Jay Leno commented while watching the tape, "Why is the Klan chasing that kid?!" Laura described the whole scene as "German Expressionism -- On Ice!"

All was forgiven during the Parade of Nations. I don't know WHY I should find that so riveting. It's just a bunch of people walking into a stadium, but man. I couldn't tear my eyes off the screen. Everyone just looked so joyous -- bright glowing faces. I had to chuckle to see athletes carrying camcorders, and athletes even on cell phones as they walked into the stadium. The lone athlete from Bermuda wore shorts! Prince Albert of Monaco is competing. The Jamaicans are back, and this time they apparently have a women's bobsleigh team.

All I really have to say about the whole Native American portion of the ceremony is that the live golden eagle swooping around was cool, the skating golden eagles were cheesy, and I don't care what Laura says, I thought the skating moose and bison were both kinda cool.

Dude. Flaming skates. That was SO cool. That almost made up for the fifty million Village of the Damned-looking Children of Light. And then the 1980 US Hockey Team lighting the flame together. I remember that game, how it was touted as this great big "White Hat US vs. Black Hat USSR" thing. While it was a very stirring time, does it seem to anyone else that the Olympics sort of lost some oomph for us after the USSR fell apart? We really don't have an archenemy to root against anymore do we?

So the Olympics are on, and I am feeling unabashedly patriotic and sentimental. You've been warned.

Posted by Lisa at February 9, 2002 09:49 AM