edensgarden's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat! Here it is, February 9, 2002 and we are two days in the Winter Olympics. I don�t know what it is about the Olympics that makes me giddy, but I am giddy as some of my students right now. I live in fear of missing any of the 375 hours of broadcast coverage of the games. Last night were the Opening Ceremonies of the Salt Lake City Games. I had been waiting all week for this and I was not disappointed. As the clock turned six the familiar music, John William�s �Fanfare for a Festive Occasion� started to play, you know the refrain, �Na na na nanana na�� (Ok so the effect is totally lost here in Diaryland, but you can imagine). I felt my heart pounding and some sort of national pride, or happy consciousness swelling in me There it was, beautiful Rice-Eccels Stadium on the University of Utah campus. The last time I saw it, it was in various states of repair and remodel, nice to be back in business, and what business it is. Then there it was, that voice, Mr. �The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat� himself, Jim McKay. The Olympics just haven�t been the same since he retired, but ABC was nice enough to loan him out for these games. Along side him were, Katie Couric, whom we all adore, and Mr. Bob �I can�t shut my fat yap in a moment of silence� Costas. Now as many of you may or may not know there was a bit of controversy surrounding the use of the WTC flag in the ceremony. When this pot began to boil, I felt that the flag should not be used. I am weary of September 11th, as I am sure many of us are. I know I will always remember, but I want to heal too. My feelings about this changed as they slowly, solemnly and gently brought this flag into the stadium. I won�t say that it was a chilling reminder, because chilling is too strong an adjective, but I would say that it was sobering, and very humbling. Silence would have been appropriate, but Mr. Bob �I can�t shut my mouth� Costas, kept right on talking like an 18 wheeler with out breaks. It was distracting to say the least, who cares if it�s 20 degrees outside!!! Needless to say, my feelings of patriotism and national pride grew a bit at the sight of this flag. The horrible memories of that day were also there, but as the National Anthem, �The Star Spangled Banner� began to play, my feelings of sadness were replaced with feelings of gratitude and a greater appreciation for the lyrics of that beautiful refrain. �And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there. Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o�re the land of the free, and the home of the brave!� On with the program. Now, in Olympics past we, the television viewing public, have been subject to some pretty interesting and weird things in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics; Most notably in 1992, at the Albertville Games in France. They had these very weird, neo-space looking bubble people, backed up with equally strange euro-techno music. I did not enjoy that program for many reasons, one of which, was the fact that those doofy bubbles left me questioning the entertainment instead of being entertained. Strange to say the least, but hey it�s France, they do what they want. So, last night when I saw the wispy interpretively costumed skaters come out I thought, �Oh no! The bubble people have mutated!! We�re being over run by French bubble people!! Hide the children!� Let�s face it folks, Americans like fireworks. You could show 2 hours of fireworks, backed with music by John Philip Sousa and throw in some beer and peanuts and the crowd would be happy. To my surprise and relief, the wispy interpretively costumed skaters were not French bubble people after all, but representative of the elements of nature. These were worked into an elaborate program complete with back flips, pyrotechnics, children dressed as snow-cherubs and winter animals. Then there it was again, the music, �Fanfare for a Festive Occasion� playing as the athletes marched into the stadium. This is the part of the Olympics that all of the athletes, regardless of national origin, or athletic ability can participate. I think it is also where the true spirit and mission of the Olympics is found. We cheered for all the countries, but especially the little countries like Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Macedonia and JAMACIA!! It was very exciting. Winners of the national costume contest: South Korea, and Mongolia. Honorable mentions to Germany for sporting Orange, Canada for the peppermint twist scarves and Belarus for the fur hats. After the athletes were seated, representatives of five Native American tribes came out and pronounced a blessing on the games. This was followed by a drum ceremony and a dance ceremony. I thought it was beautiful and a wonderful display of a very important part of American history and culture. This was followed by a good old western hoe-down. There is nothing like the music of Aaron Copland to make any program festive and fun. The games were declared open by Pres. Bush, and more fireworks started to explode. Eventually George made his way into the American section of the athletes. Some girl was talking on a cell phone, and shoved it in his hands and told him to say hi. Imagine the shock of the person on the other end, �Hi, this is the President of the United States, havin� a good old time here with your daughter at the Olympics!� Next, was the one of the moments that I�d been waiting for the entire evening, Sting, with Yoyo Ma and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This is and was the entertainment combination of the year. It was very tasteful and timely performance of �Fragile,� a song about the insidious nature of war and violence. Thank you Mr. Stinger-man. Finally, it was time for the torch to be lit. The Olympic flame was carried into the stadium by past Olympians. Up the stairs it went and out came Team USA, the Miracle on Ice Hockey Team from the 1980 Lake Placid Games to light the Olympic flame. Let the games begin! Yes, I am pro-Olympics. I love watching them, I love the fact that they are in my country, in my time zone, and in my old home town! There is nothing in the world as beautiful as the Wasatch Mountains in the winter. I wish I could be there in SLC, but for now, I�ll have to just tune into NBC and get updates from Toast, who sill lives in SLC. Speaking of which, Toast called me this morning, and guess what she had to tell me? �Eden, did you watch the opening last night? Did you see Sting?� �Oh yes, wouldn�t have missed it for anything.� �Well, guess where I was last night? I was there!!!!!!� **Eden�s mouth drops open and eyes pop out!! This is more than she is allowed to handle!** How, where? Apparently Dad of Toast, decided that his daughters in Utah should go to the ceremony. Toast�s opinion of last night�s goings on was just as positive as mine. She said that they sat next to some Swiss, and Swedes and a lady from New Jersey. The entire world was there she said, and I was there too. A commentator remarked today about that eight out of ten athletes would be going home without medals, but that the victory is not necessarily in winning, but in the struggle itself. I fully agree, especially for people representing the little countries like Armenia and Kazakhstan. For them the fact that they are here is their victory. I wish all of the participants luck, and I say, thanks for coming to my town, and my country!! Let�s hope there is more thrill of victory, than agony of defeat.� 11:47 p.m. - February 09, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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