Brats & Beer » Olympics

Sat down last night to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Yes, I know it’s cornball and overblown, but it is nice to see, even in this day when there’s so much big money involved, that one honest moment of joy when the athletes are saluted by the stadium crowd. For some of them, that will be the pinnacle of their sporting lives. It was also nice to see a country kick off the Olympics without all the flag waving patriotism that we seem to interject into the proceedings when the games are hosted in the US.

That’s not to say the pageant last night didn’t reflect the host country: artistic dance routines, theatrical anvil beating, aerial gymnastics, and an operatic aria from Pavarotti. It was quite show. My only complaint was the NBC coverage. Maybe the Italian organizers didn’t fill in the network crew about what was going to happen, but the camera shots jumped all over the place and I’m pretty sure we missed big sections of the program. At the very least we didn’t really see it the way the planners had intended. And the commentary from Bob Costas and crew wavered from banal to almost condescending. There was a time when I actually liked Costas. He brought a unique wit to baseball play-by-play back before FOX stole the post-season away from NBC. But now, I think Bobby C. is slipping into self parody, constantly trying to top himself with clever social commentary at every turn. Give it a rest, Bob, and let the pictures tell the story.

There are quite a few Wisconsin connections to watch in these games. Maureen Brunt, a native of Portage, WI, and current resident of Bemidji, MN, is the lead on the US curling squad, while Molly Engstrom of Siren, WI, makes her Olympic debut as part of the women’s hockey club. Clint Jones, born in Monroe, WI, but now living in Colorado, is trying for a medal in ski jumping, and Chris Cook of Rhinelander, WI, is making his debut as an Olympic cross-country skier. Of course, there are a lot of Badger state speed skaters in these games, including defending gold medalists Casey FitzRandolph and Chris Witty, defending bronze medalist Kip Carpenter, and second-time Olympian Catherine Raney. Tucker Fredricks from Janesville, WI, and Maria Lamb of River Falls, WI, are both making their first appearances in the Olympics. Good luck to all.