I was going to let this post slide. We pretty much had enough of the Olympics, didn’t we? There were some amazing highlights to be sure. I mean, who isn’t going to start sporting argyle pants now like the classy Norwegian curling team? Gotta love those guys! I want mine in a snappy pink and green motif. Go Norway!
And of course there is yesterday’s amazing victory for the Canadian hockey team. I’m not even in a sour mood about it. The Olympics inspires all kinds of things in me. Winning, of course, is one of them, but the ideal of competition and all that stuff really gets to me.
I know – I know. I’m usually all about survival of the fittest and earn what you get accountability. I still am –we’re talking about the ideal here, and that ideal is about the winner being the guy who deserves it because of extraordinary hard work and desire and all that blablabla (oh my goodness I am totally becoming aware of my discourse here and the dangerously socialist lilt to it).
Whatever.
I’m happy that Canada won.
There. I said it. It would have sucked something awful for them if they hadn’t; I’m just sayin’. I mean, their giant hockey table game at the closing ceremonies might not have been as cool with plain old silver around the giant cardboard players.
So what I really want to talk about is those cardboard players. And the inflatable Mounties. And how utterly cute Michael Buble is. I’m talking about the closing ceremonies. That right there is what it’s all about. All those countries came together and played fair (except those silly Koreans in the speed skating — but they got theirs) and everybody had a story to tell, and for the most part it was told.
Yeah, things got off to a terrible start with that young man dying (how tragic—I can’t wrap my mind around that) and all the pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremonies were appropriately somber, and then the flame –THE FLAME! Of all things – didn’t work right, but the games were good and exciting and fun and amazing! I am always riveted, living vicariously for a few weeks while I entertain thoughts of being there (and licking old wounds over not being there).
I love it all. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Tomorrow I’ll return to my regularly scheduled cynicism and sarcasm and comment on NBC’s boneheaded move to interrupt the programming with that RIDICULOUS new show, but today I’ll still enjoy the residual excitement of the Olympics.
The closing ceremony is always an emotional thing –to see the flame extinguished is almost as amazing as the lighting of it. So that’s what I want to talk about here.
THE CANADIANS ARE BRILLIANT! That snafu with the flame at the beginning was recovered so very nicely that Canadians are going to get a pass from me on everything for a long time (except Domino sugar, but that’s a political rant for another time). I gather that a part of the national culture is to be a little self deprecating, but let me just say it was the best recovery for a technical malfunction in the history of technical malfunctions. Too bad Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson aren’t Canadian – they might have been able to weather their little problem better.
Anyway, it was truly clever, and y’all know I like clever.
So here’s to the Canadians: Well done.
As for the other stuff – well – I don’t really know what to say about Russia. Weird comes to mind. And William Shatner was a bit psychotic, no? He has turned into a caricature of the caricature of himself. I’m sorry he didn’t perform Rocket Man. In fact, it might have been better (what’s up with the canoes?). Bob Costas, however, is no Dick Clark.