posted on February 11, 2002 04:44:26 PM new
This is from the Ogden Standard-Examiner:
One moment pulls it all together
Sun, Feb 10, 2002
By MARK SAAL
Standard-Examiner staff
My last review of a major cultural event went so well - some of you may
recall last year"s authoritative critique of the final 17 minutes of "Carmen"
in its Ogden opera debut ("Four stars! Shakespeare has outdone himself
this time." - that I thought we"d try it again . . .
On Friday night, with an estimated whole bunch of people watching, Salt
Lake City hosted the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
It was arguably the single biggest moment in recorded history for this
community, rivaling that warm July day back in 1847 when Mormon
leader Brigham Young arrived in the Salt Lake Valley and uttered those
now-famous words: "I"ve got a feeling we"re not in Kansas anymore,
Toto."
"Toto," of course, being the name of his 32nd wife.
Now, the one thing you have to keep in mind here is that I"m not a big
fan of ceremonies. Especially Olympic ceremonies, which I generally find
boring at best and downright annoying at worst. And always - always -
confusing, what with all the strange costumes and weird music and Jim
McKay.
So when the Standard-Examiner decided to send Calvin and me to the
Opening Ceremony, more than one person pointed out that the
newspaper probably could have come up with a better use for the
tickets. Like tearing them up into Chiclet-size pieces and flushing them
down the nearest toilet.
So, how was it? Well, if we tell you that the entire audience donned white
paper ponchos and sang, "She"ll Be Comin" "round the Mountain," does
that answer your question? How about if we mention that an
uncharacteristically loose and laid-back Mormon Tabernacle Choir
actually did the wave?
At one point we did begin to suspect that the parade of athletes was
being padded with fake countries, in order to make the Games look
bigger than they actually are. Who really believes there"s both a
"Tajikistan" AND a "Kyrgyzstan"? And what"s up with this: "Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"? That"s not even a name, it"s just a
description.
Still, it was a very special evening.
Our only regret was that Karl Malone and Eric Heiden couldn"t have
shared in the magic. These two humble guys, you may remember,
informed Olympics officials that they weren"t about to carry the Olympic
Torch just anywhere. Malone said he wouldn"t run the torch "across the
desert somewhere for a tenth of a mile," not-so-subtly adding: "Running
into the Olympic Stadium, now that means something."
Heiden took Malone"s complete absence of class a step further, saying if
he couldn"t be the one to actually light the cauldron then he has "other
things to do."
Fortunately, Dorothy Hammill, Dick Button, Peggy Fleming, Scott
Hamilton, Phil Mahre, Bill Johnson, Bonnie Blair, Dan Jansen, Jim Shea,
Jim Shea Jr., Picabo Street and Cammi Granato had nothing else to do.
Fortunately, they agreed to the lesser task of parading the torch around
the stadium.
And in the end, in a twist of irony that will undoubtedly be lost on the
likes of Malone and Heiden, Olympic organizers chose more than a
dozen men to light the cauldron together. That moment alone made the
whole evening worth it.
Toto would be proud.
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the feelings of
cartoonist Calvin Grondahl, who considered the ceremony the
greatest single transcendent moment of his life, aside from the birth
of his children. Contact Calvin and Saal at 625-4272 or
posted on February 11, 2002 08:24:42 PM new
Just remember: the Olympic overage is more than jusy sports, it's being used as part of a news blackout - a blackout of what is rally going on in our government.
Borillar
"Friends don't let friends vote republican"
posted on February 11, 2002 08:40:02 PM new
Borillar
And in the meantime they want us to keep our eye on the ball....ready for another war. I understand there is another terrorists threat scheduled for tomorrow morning. Do we have time for Enron?
- that I thought we"d try it again . . .
