Giving Context To The Opening Of The Vancouver Winter Olympics

OutOfContext.comFeb 19th, 2010, 4:23 pm

• “We’re very proud Canadians up here and I know the Vancouver people and the Canadians in general, in British Columbia, we really rallied around the (Olympic) Games and so that was sort of the moment to show people, that even though they weren’t in the stadium, they are part of the Olympic Games in Vancouver.” (Wayne Gretzky – 2/13/10)

The 21st Winter Olympic Games came to Vancouver last week. The Olympic Games are a symbol of good-natured competition and brotherhood between nations. The Great One was one of the four athletes chosen to light the indoor Olympic Cauldron, but only Wayne Gretzky got to light up twice, since the flame must be visible outdoors. He looked extremely professional as he was chased by fans while standing on a pickup truck. Was there any real speculation that he wouldn’t be the One? He is Canadian and he spoke eloquently about his love for the Olympics, his country and his people. If only the broadcasters covering the Olympics could be as eloquent at Mr. Gretzky.

• “Not everyone up there is happy about the Winter Olympics because putting on the games is expensive. Its costing Canadians like a billion dollars. A billion Canadian dollars, it’s like 40 bucks.” (Craig Ferguson – 2/15/10)

Craig Ferguson’s rough estimate was way off. In fact, $1 billion will barely cover the total cost of security for the Games, which was originally expected to total only a fifth as much. The Mounties (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are serving as the lead security agency for the Games (seriously) so that price tag is totally worth it. The total cost of the 2010 Winter Olympics, including all infrastructure improvements made to the Vancouver area, is estimated to be $6 billion, with $600 million of the spending directly related to hosting the games. However, the total revenues and benefits to the province are projected to be in the range of $10 billion. That should give Canadians something to smile about, even if that only totals to $400 USD according to Ferguson.

• “Retire the trophy. The combination of artistry and imagination and the resources (the Chinese) had to pull it off – nothing could ever approach (the Beijing Opening Ceremonies) and no one should try to.” (Bob Costas – 2/12/10)

Nothing get’s a crowd more excited about an event than being told there’s nothing worth watching. This was how Bob Costas led off the pre-Opening Ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympics and he did a great job of selling it as an average, more personal event. Of course it’s not going to live up to Beijing because it’s the Winter Olympics. There are less countries, less athletes and less interest. Although Costas may be right, he shouldn’t have said this, unless he wanted to deter as many people as possible from watching, which seems to be NBC’s goal by showing almost all events on tape delay.

•“The whole world is watching and we have this malfunction – only three of the four arms come up.” (Al Michaels 2/13/10)

As if the Olympics didn’t get off to a bad enough start, one of the four Olympic Cauldron arms didn’t function properly, tainting the most important event of the Opening Ceremonies. At least Al Michaels kept his journalistic objectivity as he pointed this out, but he seemed to care a lot less about the Olympics. It’s a little sad that Mr. Do You Believe in Miracles is now chained to a chair at the International Broadcast Center, going through the motions and churning out lackluster Olympic coverage. With all the time difference tape delays, why didn’t NBC break for a commercial and have someone manually crank the malfunctioning arm up? Did the audience really have to watch Wayne Gretzky look as awkward and as constipated as possible?

•“(The luge officials) moved the start 600 feet down the track and you’re telling me that’s because (Nodar Kumaritashvili) made a mistake? Well if that was consistent, the kid made a mistake, they would start where they normally would start and they wouldn’t cover up the exposed steel girders. It’s hypocrisy.” (David Letterman – 2/15/10)

One of the biggest news stories of this Vancouver Olympics actually occurred before the Games even started. A practice run on the Vancouver luge track, considered one of the fastest and most dangerous courses in the world, had claimed the life of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. But in wake of this catastrophe, luge officials tried to explain that the death was a mistake while simultaneously making numerous changes to their track. This caused David Letterman to point out the hypocrisy in their efforts and drew the ire of many Olympic fans, as some believe the luge officials were attempting to distance themselves and avoid responsibility for this unfortunate occurrence.

• “Black people don’t watch the Winter Olympics.” (Tracy Morgan – 2/15/10)

If you don’t know by now, Tracy Morgan is black and he isn’t afraid to incorporate his race into almost everything he says. But this time, he may have gone too far. It’s safe to say the Winter Olympics are a little less diverse than the Summer Olympics, but Morgan’s comments came just days before Shani Davis won gold in the 1000-meter speedskating event. Maybe the 30 Rock star, employed by NBC, is giving his network an excuse for a couple days of low ratings. Or maybe, he’s trying to explain why President Obama sent Joe Biden to Vancouver.

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