Olympic Opening Ceremonies
 

Anyone else have the chance to watch them?

I guess maybe it's more important for me being Canadian and all, but I thought they were some of the best I've ever seen (although I think Beijing topped them). Even with the slight hydraulic malfunction of the torch at the end I think it represented Canada and our culture very well.

nope didn't get a chance to, to busy searching on the forum:icon_playing:
wish i had the chance to see it though..

they were pretty cool. Lots of crazy effects and what not. Not sure you can even compare them to Beijing tho, kinda apples and Oranges. One featured thousands of people running around doing crazy ****, van city featured crazy projections and lighting....and a little too much fiddle for my taste. All in all it was pretty spectatular.

i thought it was pretty cool. well planned out although there were a few mechanical difficulties but that can happen to any one. i liked it, just to bad they are having to truck the snow in though. Talk about some weird weather all over......

I couldn't watch it, not my thing. Although I did watch the last 10 minutes or so. Changing the name of GM place and altering our anthem for the Olympics doesn't sit right with me.

I lost all interest in the Olympics when they stopped being what they were designed to be - competition for amateurs. When they started sanctioning professionals it became just another sports show.

:icon_ditto:

i did ctch that Georgian Kid cushing himself on the practice luge run though. poor sumbitch :icon_no:

i understood every single word of that curtis, good ol southern boy

No, didnt get a chance to watch it but heard it was great. Waiting on hockey to start.

To tell you the truth the ceremonies are the only reason I watch any part of the olympics lol. I could care less about the sports. I'm always amazed at the stuff they can come up with and pull off in the ceremonies.

Yea I watched some of them. Kinda sad Katrina Lemay Doan just stood there for the torch lighting. I liked the fiddling. It was a little long but the sound of a fiddle is nice. I missed the cool snowboarding segment but I heard it was good.

The fiddling part I could have done without too, but it's a part of our Canadian cultue and heritage so I can definitely see why it was included. It does suck for Catrina too lol. She didn't get to light her torch because of the hydraulic issue.
What snowboarding part are you referring to Wil? The initial opening, or the part with the mountain where the skiers and snowboarders were suspended on it?

I think the best part was either that or the whales. It was amazing the effects they were able to do with the screens and the white floor.

My mom told me there was a really cool snowboard part that I would have liked. But from what I saw the whales were awesome.

nope, missed it.

was too busy helping move a friend of the wife's Friday night.

i think Wil was refering to the guy coming right through the Olympic rings, as they were going off.

Yeah that was pretty cool. I thought that poet did a really great job a defining Canada. "We say Zed... not ZEE"

Out here they have all the sports events and the ceremonies on demand (With Eastlink). I'm assuming you don't have Eastlink cable up there though Chris...I think its outside of our service area. I don't believe anyone else has it on demand...but I could be wrong. It should be on youtube though (at least parts of it).
And I agree...the poet was one of the best parts. He defined Canada really well. The "zed, not zee" part was good...along with we're defined as "please and thank you".

Closing ones were better I think.

He's Wil too?? This could get confusing. :icon_doh:

No it's actually Brad lol. I called him Wil by accident and Chris caught on and started calling him that too :icon_redface:. My fault.

Anyway, I agree about the closing ceremonies. It was a lot less formal and more like a big party. It was a big joke to do all the stereotypes people have of Canadians, but I think it really showed what a great and fun nation we can be :D

Ah, okay that makes sense.

Not sure if I really like some of that closing ceremony. It's no wonder we are stereotyped on beavers, lumberjacks, mounties and moose. For every Canadian it was a joke, for every other country it might look sincere. All that was missing was giant jugs of maple syrup, or did I miss that?

I did like having music artist play some songs, however I felt my favorite band - Our Lady Peace should have been there. :icon_badrazz:

Didn't really like the ending either. Seems to kind of end on a slower or lower note than it could have.

Yeah they definitely missed incorporating dogsleds and igloos, oh well.

I think it was still pretty good. I liked it. It showed we can take al lthe stereotypes and make fun of them. If anyone who didn't know Canada well was watching it they may have thought it's actually what we're like, but honestly if they saw the opening ceremonies they would know better. The opening ceremonies were great for our cultural side and really did a good job at showing Canadian culture IMO, but the closing ceremonies were more about our pride and showing everyone what an amazing country we are. The Olympics really made me realize how much I love this country and would never want to live anywhere else but Canada. I always knew I never wanted to leave and I loved it, but never really knew why. I guess the pride and culture that was displayed as part of the olympics really opened my eyes. It truely is an amazing country.