Bob, Apollo and Torsten
I’ve got a super exciting evening planned… with Bob, Apollo and Torsten.Haha, not exactly!! My exciting evening involves pjs, popcorn (which I plan to pop in oil without burning up the apt) and the opening ceremony of the winter Olympic from Turin! Watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics is something I thoroughly look forward to every two years.
The actual opening ceremony will obviously be no different than what I would watch in the US. But as the games have drawn closer, I am increasingly aware that there are uniquely American and German spins on what will take place over the next couple weeks.
For starters, the opening ceremony won’t be quite the same without Bob Costas and his cheesy “captain obvious” comments. I always took Bob for granted but I’m going to miss him this year! [For the Germans: Bob Costas is a well-known commentator on NBC who has been covering the Olympics for as long as I can remember but he makes dumb comments which comedians often tease him about.]
I’ve also been intrigued to see which sports are hyped. Cross-country skiing seems to be much more popular here than in the States. On the flip side, I have not heard a thing about the members of the German snow boarding or speed skating teams. I wonder what kind of German competition Apollo Anton Ono has?
Finally, I have been intrigued to follow what can only be described as a uniquely German Olympic story. One of the German ice skating coaches was outted as being a former East German secret police informant, code name: IM Torsten. Officials said he should not be allowed to represent Germany. He argued that he has already represented united Germany in two Olympics and the information he passed to the Stasi wasn’t that bad (or good depending on your perspective!) The case has gone back and forth, but it was finally decided this week that Ingo Steuer will be allowed to coach his figure skating pair in Turin.
What is it about weirdoes and ice-skating… remember Tanya Harding!!
Oohh, the ceremony is starting, gotta go!
posted by Erin @ 1:39 PM
5 Comments:
Yeah for the Germans, they've won some of the first gold medals! But what's up with the medals, they have big holes in them!
Another surprise, the Olympic music I always assumed was the official Olympic music must just be NBC's song because ZDF, Germany's official Olympic station, has totally different music. Hmmm
So, did we like the opening ceremonies? Personally, I wasn't a fan. For some reason, it just reminded me of hell with all the red lights and fire people skating around. It was a little freaky. Your thoughts? AB
I liked it actually! The spinning cows were a bit strange in the beginning but I loved the moving skier that was created by the colorfully dressed people. Now that you mention hell though, I can kind of see the comparison:-)
Erin - The theme music you hear is the NBC Theme for the Olympics - kinda like the ABC Monday Night Football Theme (I know now rabidly you follow the NFL . . .)
I always appreciated the Canadian CBC broadcast of the Olympics - much less sensationalist than the American broadcasts.
CJS
I lived an hour from Canada for 12 years and never watched the Olympics on CBC. It's interesting that you did. I would say that the German coverage is about as pro-German as a German would get. What seems to be absent is all the filler pieces that profile that different athletes.
Post a Comment
<< Home