My Opening

I watched the 4 hour (2 1/2 of the official ceremony and the rest with interviews, etc) of the Opening Ceremony last night. First, I didn't like that it wasn't shown live. I thought it was responsible that the US group covering it (NBC) did mention all the good and bad associated with the Games in Sochi - it would have been awkward if they simply skipped over it like some countries tend to do. The next thing I noticed was everything was said in French, then English and then Russian (French and English are the official languages of the Olympics and Russian was added for Russia hosting the Games this time.) The male Russian guy was pretty creepy sounding. I understood what he said even if I didn't hear it before in English or French. He sounded like an old man trying to pick-up little children.

I know many people have written and talked about this next part and so will I. You know someone lost their life when that snowflake failed to open and turn into the Olympic symbol. I would say the same if it was done in Beijing (but not in London - if you know what I mean.) Since it happened right at the beginning of the show it stuck with me - especially knowing and being constantly told by the media that the Games are Putin's "pride and joy."

One item I really liked and though was pretty cool was the projection of the world map on the floor and how it changed when the different country teams walked out. I would like to see that made a staple at the Games. Along with that the Parade of Nations was long (as usual.) I didn't like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands wearing shorts - especially not at the Winter Games. The Russian shapkas that the British team wore also were out of place as it is supposed to show-case the individual country and not the host country. The rainbow outfits the German wore were also pretty bad (regardless if they were trying to make a statement or not.) Liechtenstein was wearing tie-dye and it looked like a little kid had made them. The US team's clothes had too many American flags - less is more. We know what country they are from and don't need so many flags on every piece of clothing to remind us. It is like looking at a Taco Bell flying 10 flags around their restaurant. Russia's outfits were odd too. The men looked like they were wearing cowboy coats while the women looked like they were wearing Santa's coat. It wasn't a good look. I did like Israel's classic blue and white and Canada's red and black. Of course with the Winter Games you really only see hats and coats (as opposed to the Summer Games.)

On to the 1,000 years of Russian history show. The little girl (named Lybov - Love - in the show, but whose real name is Liza) did a good job (especially when she was in the air. I understood the majority if the items after each Russian letter, but I'm sure the average non-Russian had no idea. It was interesting to see how Russia would portray it's own history. I studied Russian history (both from American as well as Russian teachers - in Russia) and there is a big difference as to how and what is taught. Of course this time it was meant to be the Reader's Digest version. The "Candyland" Russian churches were cute. The acrobats did a great job. The "War and Peace" part was a little long especially considering it is a book and not completely historical. I didn't like the Industrialization part. It was too long, a little boring and too Avant-Garde for me. I was surprised at how little World War 2 (called the Great Patriotic War in Russia) was mentioned. They had air raid sirens and the sounds of bombs falling and that was it. Russians are obsessed with the War (they did loose around 20 million people in it.) Every town has a WW 2 memorial and when people get married they still go there for their pictures and to place flowers. It was nice to see they did include some Communist/Soviet aspects - although very little considering it was 70+ years long and the majority of Russians would like the USSR brought back. I didn't understand why they added the 1960s "hipsters" as they were shunned by ordinary Soviet society and the government. They were treated like anti-communist/anti-social people. I guess the show designers just wanted to add some fun in between the Soviet/Communist slogans and the Soviet Space achievements. The "1,000 years" skipped the years from the 1970s-2000s (a big chunk of time that made Russia what it is today.) The Soviet Union's collapse was completely ignored.

The IOC President  then gave a typical German speech with very little emotion. Putin opened the Games with little fanfare. The Swan Lake scene was nice. The IOC flag bearers were interesting. They had the first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. I couldn't understand a word of the IOC Anthem (and not because it was sung in Russian.) As for the Torch Bearers. It was odd to see Putin's girlfriend (and many say- his secret wife), Alina Kabaeva, among them but I guess if you are with the President you should use some of the perks. The two runners at the end took forever to get to the outside torch. The fireworks were nice.

All-in-all the Opening Ceremonies were good. There were no major mistakes and incidents (that you could see.) Now for the Games. I see that the US already has it's first Gold medal!