I love the Olympics. Even though I am much more of a summer Olympic fan, I can still get pretty giddy over the winter Olympics. I love the competition, the pride the athletes have in representing their countries, the lighting of the torch, the "back stories" of the athletes, and the medal ceremonies. I love the Olympics so much that, in college, my roommates and I bit the bullet and paid for the local TV channels so we could get the Olympic coverage (well, that and coverage of the Presidential elections).So, I was excited to get an invitation to an Opening Ceremonies party, hosted by friends who are actually from the Olympic host city--Vancouver.
They recorded the opening ceremonies (which occurred between 2:30 and 5:30AM, Edinburgh time) and played the recording while a roomful of people sat on, watched, conversed, and (of course) ate. While I'm not a huge fan of the opening ceremonies, this was pretty special....never before have I watched anything Olympic related with anyone other than an American. But this weekend, we watched the athletes march in with friends (and some strangers) from: Canada, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Holland, Australia, and America. It was fun to hear people cheer as their country entered the arena and to hear their comments and news about athletes from their homes. It's easy to just focus on the athletes from the US (especially in the US, where the TV coverage features the US athletes), so this was pretty special and definitely gave newer appreciation for the international nature of the games.
The Olympic coverage here is so much better than in the States. Good job BBC! Really enjoyed watching the summer Olympics 2 years ago, have watched some of the Vancouver ones, but like you I am a bigger fan of the summer ones. But it is pretty cool that they are in Vancouver this time, a city I know and love very much!
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