Anybody else think the Opening Ceremonies were tacky?

[Hoping4Change]

The Oakland Trib review is hysterical. "Nothing says entertainment like a boring speech by a woman standing under a giant olive tree.

The opening ceremonies began the last laborious crawl to the finish line. There was no glorious archery shot of flame flashing through the air, like Barcelona.

Nope.

We had little human fireflies flying like Tinkerbell above the crowd. Then the torch was passed from veteran Greek athlete to the next. Then the final Greek guy lights what looks like a giant cigarette that rises on a pully up to the top of the arena. There were a few white fireworks."


http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~2334743,00.html

[fdr_hst_fan]

1. I've been down on the

Olympics since 1972, so I didn't see the opening ceremony, but it probably WAS tacky!

[The empressof all]

2. I didn't think they were tacky

I thought they were odd, however. Cube Man, woman with belly light, Centaur, were peculiar visuals. The one that got me laughing the most was the 5 story primitive face which for the first few minutes looked like a vagina to me.

[Hoping4Change]

8. Pregnant Bjork wearing a parachute seems tacky to me.

And what about the pieces of a sculpture that floated around in pieces? What was that all about? What I suppose I found worse than these over-the-top images straining to be artistic was the lack of pizazz amd lack of stirring music. I like some of Bjork's music but it didn't seem to be the right venue for her.

[murielm99]

3. Actually some parts of it creeped me out.

The centaur, and all those people dressed and made up like statues were creepy. If I had small children, I would have made them go to bed, and not watch it. It would have given them nightmares.

And each country's delegation was led in by a woman dressed like a Grecian urn!

But give them some credit. They worked hard on this. And they were under pressure for security, too.

[Hoping4Change]

6. So that is what those costumes were supposed to be.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why women looked like they were wearing upside down flower pots!

[readmylips]

4. What was that all about? Pregnant woman..

with lid stomach. I watched a little bit but didn't get the whole thing. The show looked more like dead people escaping from a cementary...pasty white. It was a funeral. Pukey. There was no vitality, no excitement, no colorfulness. I looked hours later to watch the parade and it wasn't any better. The uniforms were gray with black. More funeral colors. I saw some of the women marching sticking their tongues out at the camera, and pushing each other to get to the front of the camera. What a dissater. I turned it off.

[DS1]

5. What are you talking about?

All Olympic ceremonies are tacky.

[Momgonepostal]

11. I thought Atlanta's was tacky

All the cheerleaders and pickup trucks.

[DS1]

12. LA was tacky

but pickup trucks?

Beam me up!

[Momgonepostal]

17. I remember reading...

...after the Atlanta ceremonies many foreigners didn't get the concept of cheerleaders. They didn't understand why Americans need help cheering for their favorite team. LOL

I don't remember LA's at all.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

7. as a classics major, I thought they were great! It was a parade

of greek art history. wonderful, really! (or is that grecian?)

[SemperEadem]

9. They're entitled to interpret entertainment the way they want in Greece

they don't have to customize it to suit America...

I'm sure the rest of Europe and the world had no problem with it.

we might as well get used to it... they don't owe us comparable entertainment value or images we can relate to.

[Hoping4Change]

10. Of course they're entitled to do what they wish and the rest of

the world is entitled to comment on their efforts.

[Jack Horkheimer]

13. Merkins are inferior! Europeans Rule!

Yuo are TEH ROXXOR!!!!!11!!1!

[AngryAmish]

14. How can ceremonies be anything but tacky?

Super Bowl halftime? Tacky.

All marching bands are tacky.

The fact that the ceremonies were brought to you by the self-important Olympic movement means it may peg the tacky-o-meter.

A challange -- name one ceremony that is not tacky?

[Hoping4Change]

15. I suppose my def of a tacky event is one that is infused with

artistic pretention when in fact it is simply a gaudy spectacle. For that reason I don't regard marching bands as tacky.

[devilgrrl]

16. If you're referring to Bob Costas and Katie Couric's commentary - Yes!

That was tacky!

[AgadorSparticus]

18. good god, mary mother of jesus! could someone shut that bob costas

up??? he and katie couric bug the shit out of me. they not only talk too much but the comments are beyond annoying. i'm getting very friendly with that mute button.

[thecrow]

19. I thought their comments were terrible!

Very disrespectful!
The Greeks put a lot of time and money into this presentation, and whether or not we appreciated it or not, KC and Costas REALLY were over the top in tacky comments.