Impressive

I have to say I was wowed by the Olympic opening ceremonies last night.

Over twenty three million Canadians tuned in, making it by far the most viewed program in Canadian television history. Truly incredible when you consider this country has a population of only 34 million.

I watched the NBC coverage exclusively. Partly because I was very curious to see how the Americans would cover the event (would there be endless U! S! A! U! S! A! boosterism? Would they come off cheesy and dumb this country down for their viewers, as they did in '88?) I'm happy to report that the NBC coverage was first-rate and kept a truly international focus. In fact, I was surprised at just how little of the American team we saw. Doubtless that'll change...I can't remember which comedian it was who said, upon watching Canadian Olympic coverage for the first time, that he was "surprised to find out the other countries stuck around for the events".

The other reason I watched NBC was in protest. CTV should never have been allowed to bid for, let alone win, the right to broadcast these games. CTV can wrap itself in the flag all it wants, but one look at their usual prime-time lineup shows them as the American network they really are. If I'm going to watch American coverage, I'd rather see the real thing, thanks.

As for the ceremonies themselves...wow. Now it's a given that nothing was going to surpass or even approach Beijing's $400 million extravaganza. As Costas noted last night, you don't even try. Instead you make your ceremony stand out in its own way. By any measure, I'd say they succeeded at that. Some of the effects accomplished were jaw-dropping, and I was very happy to hear two of my all-time favourite songs included in the ceremony (Joni Mitchell's Both Sides, Now and k.d. lang doing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Ashley MacIssac's fiddling was incredible, as well.

And yes, Gretzky lit the flame. But I was pleased to see three others doing it with him--Nancy Greene, Rick Hansen, and Catriona Le May-Doan. It would have been nicer had that hydraulic worked, but as one commentator noted, "our imperfections make us perfect." That's a Canadian sentiment if ever I've heard one.

Actually, the highlight of the night for me was Shane Koyczan's slam poem "We Are More". This was an extended take on the "I Am Canadian" TV commercial. The part I liked the most:

but we are more

than genteel or civilized

we are an idea in the process

of being realized

we are young

we are cultures strung together

then woven into a tapestry

and the design

is what makes us more

than the sum total of our history

we are an experiment going right for a change

That's inspired, right there.

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Questions for the so-called "protesters" who staged a mini-riot in downtown Vancouver today:

Could you please explain what your "protest" had to do with the Olympics, besides occurring in the same city? Because, really, all I saw were broken windows on various stores (not one of which was an Olympic sponsor) and assaulted peace officers, whose sworn duty to uphold the law is in force everywhere and at all times. What were you trying to accomplish with your actions? I'll tell you what you accomplished in my mind: you gave me a great reason for the Vancouver police force to use tasers. Congratulations, I didn't think that was possible. And finally, why do you feel so ambivalent about your cause that you won't even show your faces? I mean, c'mon. Either you're willing to be seen protesting or you're not. And if you're not, why protest?

There are, don't get me wrong, perfectly legitimate reasons to protest the Olympics, and even more legitimate reasons to protest VANOC. But you guys? You weren't protesting. You were being children. Grow up, already.