[Penny]

Who's going to watch the opening ceremony?

I would like to.. I just have to find out what day it is on, 5.30 am Saturday morning or Sunday morning?

I can see I am going to be tired over the next little while if I stay up to watch some Olympic stuff! Most of it is going on over night!

[Sparklechick]

Saturday 5.45am on One.

I am going to try to watch as much of it as possible. I am going to buy some video tapes so I can tape some of the events that I want to see that are on at nasty hours of the night/morning.

I'm really glad that Beatrice got to be the flag bearer. She's the first track and field competitor to carry the flag since John Walker carried it many years ago.

[Penny]

Looks like my sleeping in plans for the weekend have just gone out the window! Oh well I will just have to have a kindy nap or two in the afternoon.

Yeah go Beatrice, Athens is where she won her world champs or something so that is good.

I brought a herald today to look at their Athens guide so that will help me with whats on when. It didn't have when the Opening Ceremony was on though on their part. or on my part becuase I might have just missed it.

[kall]

Yay Beatrice!

I served her at the Drive Thru once at Greenlane McDs...she had a huge 4-wheel drive vehicle.

[Sparklechick]

What did she order Kall?

Ooh, I must grab the Athens guide out of the paper here at work.

[kall]

A Large Mac Attack as I recall.

The 2 Big Mac with large fries and large coke.

In my day, it was $7. I shudder to think what it costs now.

[sal_b]

Yep I'll be another one crawling out of bed tomorrow morning to watch the Opening ceremony..yay for gas heaters!

[Sparklechick]

Well ... what did everyone think?

I thought it was okay ... shame about the commentators who obviously didn't do a huge amount of research before the ceremony.

Sometimes I jush wish they'd shut up!

[Penny]

Umm I always think they should shut up during the opening ceremony, or let you use the sky options thing (if you are viewing it through sky) to turn it off!

But I think they are just given a piece of paper expalining each bit and they pretty much read off that.

I enjoyed it, I thought the whole water thing was good. Then I have to admist I dozed through it and then after NZ team marched went back to sleep but I saw the end bit on the replay.

I thought the big torch they lit, looked like that thing in the Simpsons that Homer set up to do his work for him, you know that thing that pecked at his computer keyboard, it looked like a huge one of those.

[trogg]

Originally Posted by Penny

I thought the big torch they lit, looked like that thing in the Simpsons that Homer set up to do his work for him, you know that thing that pecked at his computer keyboard, it looked like a huge one of those.

OMG... I thought that as well.

One of those rocking bird things that 'takes a drink' and then stands back up.

At least I now know that I am not the only one that had that weird thought.

[Penny]

Originally Posted by trogg

OMG... I thought that as well.

One of those rocking bird things that 'takes a drink' and then stands back up.

At least I now know that I am not the only one that had that weird thought.

It certainly redefines what you think of when you think of an olympic torch. I used to love it when the shot at the flame and it lit. When I was a kid I remember sitting there in suspense wondering whether their aim would be good enough to get it lit. Then I someone told me that it was all set up and it would still light whether it got it or not

[trogg]

Did you notice how the hand held torch wasnt even close to the main one when it suddenly ignited ?

[Penny]

Yep I certainly did We were wondering what would have happened had it gone terribly wrong and ignited with a big flame right by that guys arm....

anyway it didn't matter that it still lit even though the torch wasn't close, my childhood dream of that had been shattered a long time ago.

btw Trogg, great avatar

[trogg]

Yea... crispy athlete.... and put another shrimp on the Barbee.

I think it was the archer at the Los Angeles Olympics (1988?) missing the cauldron that bought home the fantasy of it all.

The flame is originally lit in Olympia from the sun but what happens if it the wind blows it out part way through the torch relay, do they start again with another genuine flame or is there Howard Morrison there with his trusty BIC?
(To the non Kiwis, Howard Morrison is an old celeb over here that once advertised lighters)

As for the avatar.... the Almighty Kall (our creator) has to take the credit for that one.

[kall]

Originally Posted by trogg

Yea... crispy athlete.... and put another shrimp on the Barbee.

I think it was the archer at the Los Angeles Olympics (1988?) missing the cauldron that bought home the fantasy of it all.

I think LA was '84 .. was it the '92 Barcelona Olympics where the Archer missed?

Originally Posted by trogg

As for the avatar.... the Almighty Kall (our creator) has to take the credit for that one.

:bow:

Originally Posted by Daily Times.com

The most grisly blunder came in Seoul in 1988 when dozens of doves released earlier in the opening ceremony alighted on the Olympic cauldron.

When the flame was lit, several of the birds were caught in the flames to the horror of watching spectators. Four years later Barcelona organisers wisely saved the release of doves for the Olympic finale. At the flame-lighting, Spanish organisers recruited the services of an archer to fire a burning arrow into the cauldron.

At first glance the gimmick worked. But a closer inspection revealed that the flame had lit automatically as the arrow missed its target, sailing yards wide. Four years later and organisers of the Atlanta Olympics recruited the services of boxing legend Muhammad Ali to do the honours.

The appearance of the former world heavyweight champion – shaking uncontrollably through Parkinson’s syndrome – electrified the fans.

Yet the torch lighting itself was a flop. A pulley used to haul the flame up to the torch bowl was tortuously slow and to make matters worse the cauldron itself – derided as looking like a carton of McDonalds french fries – burned and blackened during the Games.

[trogg]

Originally Posted by kall

I think LA was '84 .. was it the '92 Barcelona Olympics where the Archer missed?

:bow:

Looks like some things are becoming blured together in my mind

[Penny]

Cool articles Kall and Trogg... Being a youngin I don't remember too much about it all Just bits and pieces here.