Opening Ceremony: Finally

[Daisy]

7 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Yes, that was very awkward.  There was one country (can't remember the name) where the man and woman looked like they were fighting over it.

I think they were trying to unfurl it (that's what the NBC commentator said). 

I get what they were trying to do but i think i really should just be 1 person next time. 

[Crashcourse]

17 minutes ago, Daisy said:

I think they were trying to unfurl it (that's what the NBC commentator said). 

Yeah, I was just joking about the fight, but they should go back to one person.

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, Crashcourse said:

Yeah, I was just joking about the fight, but they should go back to one person.

I am very slow today LOL

[legaleagle53]

I would say that the best word to describe the opening ceremony is "subtle." That's a good word because it fits with the Japanese mode of expression.

There's a saying in Japan: "If you say 'one,'' you must understand 'ten." What makes Japanese such a difficult language for non-natives to learn isn' t the grammar or the vocabulary. It's getting a feeling for the subtle nuances of the language that aren't always overtly expressed. It's the Japanese way -- nihonjin no michi.

Nihon e irrashaimase -- Welcome to Japan!

Edited July 24, 2021 by legaleagle53

[AimingforYoko]

Damn, Ireland have the serious masks on.

[Lady Whistleup]

The Iranian womens' outfits for the opening ceremony are gorgeous. Iranian women are always so stylish.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[Constant Viewer]

I think it is Uruguay where they were fighting over the flag The commentators even mentioned it. I liked the Angolan dresses the female athletes were wearing and that Ireland bowed as they came in. Italy looked very happy.

[LexieLily]

The flagbearer for Cyprus was waving that flag around so much he almost hit the athlete walking next to him, more than once. Lol.

[TigerLily20]

I love that Ireland bowed when they came in.....

 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve started watching all over….when when the walk outs be completed?

[TigerLily20]

I honestly don't know, I am getting annoyed by the constant commercials, just let it run, we all know it's already pre-recorded....

[proserpina65]

Having both a man and woman carrying each flag sounds good in theory.  In practice, it's bloody stupid.  Have two flags or alternate or something, but two people trying to carry the same flag is just awkward as hell.

[Crashcourse]

One thing that annoyed me is that the countries weren't introduced in alphabetical order.  

Watching again just for my Tonga man.

[AimingforYoko]

3 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

One thing that annoyed me is that the countries weren't introduced in alphabetical order.  

They are. They're using the Japanese alphabet.

[choclatechip45]

NBC decided to ignore my complaints during the NBA finals about cutting into the action with pointless interviews. 

[Dr.OO7]

I never realized how much spectators contributed to the experience until there weren't any.

This wasn't a bad ceremony, but it felt anticlimactic.

I'm sorry to be so pessimistic, but I really feel like these games are going to suck. Pandemic or not, thanks to the huge time difference, we're going to know the results of the night's events by 7 in the morning. I still remember how that ruined the Nagano Games for me. I saw no point in watching anything (and the ratings sucked, so clearly, I wasn't the only one).

[AimingforYoko]

1 minute ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Pandemic or not, thanks to the huge time difference, we're going to know the results of the night's events by 7 in the morning.

Swimming events are going to be run in the morning, Tokyo time, so they'll be in primetime here. I don't know about Gymnastics or Track and Field.

[TigerLily20]

19 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

One thing that annoyed me is that the countries weren't introduced in alphabetical order.  

Watching again just for my Tonga man.

I was also waiting for him lol, there was another country who's flag holder was taking a cue from Tonga lol

[Crashcourse]

Ok, Savannah finally announced that the countries were presented according to the Japanese alphabet.  She should have said that in the beginning.

20 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

They are. They're using the Japanese alphabet.

Yeah, now I know.  

[Rootbeer]

1 minute ago, Crashcourse said:

Ok, Savannah finally announced that the countries were presented according to the Japanese alphabet.  She should have said that in the beginning.

Somebody did say it at the beginning of the broadcast this morning, I think it was edited out tonight.  This morning, they said that the countries were alphabetical by Japanese spelling when the first country after Greece (Iceland?) was announced.  It was a little frustrating not knowing the order that the teams would enter, made me wish I had studied Japanese.

[shoregirl]

 Puerto Rico's outfits they looked like flight attendants (I mean this as a compliment). I dug them.

I would very much like the Ireland jacket.

Thank you Tongo and Vanuatu .

3 minutes ago, Rootbeer said:

Somebody did say it at the beginning of the broadcast this morning, I think it was edited out tonight.  This morning, they said that the countries were alphabetical by Japanese spelling when the first country after Greece (Iceland?) was announced.  It was a little frustrating not knowing the order that the teams would enter, made me wish I had studied Japanese.

I heard them say it towards the beginning.

Edited July 24, 2021 by shoregirl

[proserpina65]

7 hours ago, Raachel2008 said:

My people! I missed you!

Eh, that was disappointing. I know, I know, Covid, and all the scandals surrounding the organizers... Still: Rio 2016 >>>> Japan 2021.

 

 

True, and Rio's wasn't all that good.

6 hours ago, Daisy said:

To be honest I don't remember Rio's (Well I don't remember a lot of them maybe i am getting older. Like I remember MOMENTS). Except for Beijing. I remember most of Beijing for how epic almost everything was.

I wasn't impressed by Beijing's - too much of it was pre-recorded.  The best opening ceremonies I remember for Summer were Sydney, Barcelona and Athens.  For Winter, Lillehammer was the best, hands down, although Torino and Vancouver were also quite nice.

6 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I remember Gisele Bundchen doing a catwalk and that's about it.

There was also a segment representing the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, if I remember correctly.  It wasn't a good opening ceremony.

2 hours ago, crimsongrl said:

My biggest complaints were for NBC. Was the music NBCs doing? It was way too loud. Team USA bus cam (why?), Team USA interviews during the parade of nations (you have 2 weeks to talk to these people!) and too many mentions of Michael Phelps (and I like him!).

Yeah, this all sucked, especially when stupid bus cam got half the screen and the nation entering only got half.

 

[LexieLily]

Portugal was so happy it was jarring compared to everyone else.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

I think it was a huge huge fail.

I was so grateful it was just happening, that it couldn't be a fail.  Nobody died, nobody was shooting into the stadium, nobody called in a bomb threat.  I'm good.  

10 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Pandemic or not, thanks to the huge time difference, we're going to know the results of the night's events by 7 in the morning. I still remember how that ruined the Nagano Games for me. I saw no point in watching anything (and the ratings sucked, so clearly, I wasn't the only one).

Hey, NBC addressed that concern by running the Opening Ceremony live at 6:55 am EST.  I got my coffee, settled into my recliner and enjoyed it.  Now while NBS is repeating the ceremony in the background, I'm watching LIVE gymnastics on nbcolympics.com.  It's free too.  Tomorrow morning, I'll watch the US male gymnasts performing live as well.  

 

[SnideAsides]

28 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Thanks to the huge time difference, we're going to know the results of the night's events by 7 in the morning. I still remember how that ruined the Nagano Games for me. I saw no point in watching anything (and the ratings sucked, so clearly, I wasn't the only one).

I mean, there's a whole world competing and the games aren't just about America. Every Olympics is going to be at a bad time for someone. There's not really any reason the US is more deserving of having the Olympics timed to accommodate their sleep cycle than the nearly two billion people who either live in Japan's time zone or the time zone next to it.

Edited July 24, 2021 by SnideAsides

[proserpina65]

36 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

One thing that annoyed me is that the countries weren't introduced in alphabetical order. 

The countries always come in alphabetically in the language of the host nation, except for Greece, who is always first, and the host nation itself, which is always last.  In Athens they had the Greek flag come in first and the rest of the Greek contingent came in at the end of the parade of nations to solve the problem of having Greece be the host nation.

[legaleagle53]

It's hilarious that they cut to commercial just before Team USA!

[TigerLily20]

1 minute ago, legaleagle53 said:

It's hilarious that they cut to commercial just before Team USA!

I mean come on........this is annoying.....

[galaxygirl76]

1 hour ago, TigerLily20 said:

I honestly don't know, I am getting annoyed by the constant commercials, just let it run, we all know it's already pre-recorded....

NBC is just hellbent on making me hate them.

46 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

NBC decided to ignore my complaints during the NBA finals about cutting into the action with pointless interviews. 

The hosts were telling us all the facts of the countries and where they are placed on the map, unless they are talking to athletes and then you are on your own.

5 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

It's hilarious that they cut to commercial just before Team USA!

I told my husband that that was going to happen.

[AimingforYoko]

Considering my screen name and avatar, maybe I'm the wrong guy to say this, but is "Imagine" kind of overrated?

[SunnyBeBe]

I loved Imagine!🥰😍😻

[Bill1978]

56 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I'm sorry to be so pessimistic, but I really feel like these games are going to suck. Pandemic or not, thanks to the huge time difference, we're going to know the results of the night's events by 7 in the morning. I still remember how that ruined the Nagano Games for me. I saw no point in watching anything (and the ratings sucked, so clearly, I wasn't the only one).

As an Australian I am so use to this approach to watching the Olympics. And I was really disappointed to see that Tokyo has swapped the swimming around (for what I can only think is for NBC's money). I was looking forward to watching the swimming finals at night for the first time since Sydney instead of during work time. I remember NBC and the IOC tried to convince Sydney organisers to swap the order and they basically said 'This is Australia's Olympics and we want the host nation residents to get the most of it, including the local tv ratings'

I also feel putting the next 2 Olympic host nations just ahead of the host nation was again bending to the mighty America dollar. I recall the story (no idea if it's true) that NBC tried to get Rio to walk the athletes out in English because under the local language America walked out really early and NBC was worried people would stop watching the ceremony. Apparently Rio just laughed at the request. I seriously hope that doesn't become a tradition.

[Peace 47]

It’s kind of ironic that after that 2020 celebrity home video mashup of “Imagine” was a poster child for backlash against celebs having an easier time during pandemic than the average person, that they opted to use it for this controversial, COVID-19-clouded opening ceremony.

Does anyone know the song playing during Dwayne Johnson’s introduction of Team USA?

[BuckeyeLou]

I thought the Drone/Globe floating over the Stadium was Cool!  

[legaleagle53]

I stand corrected.

Edited July 24, 2021 by legaleagle53

[proserpina65]

OMG - Belgium's uniforms were hideous!

46 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Portugal was so happy it was jarring compared to everyone else.

Wow, they were so excited.  Good for them.

 

[SunnyBeBe]

I love song Wings To Fly too with the paper doves!

[Bill1978]

8 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Nope. That just happens to be where they fall in the Japanese syllabary. アメリカ合衆国 (Amerikagasshūkoku) and フランス (Furansu),

From Wikipedia

"For the first time ever in the opening ceremony, the teams from the countries that will host the next two Olympic Games in 2024 and 2028, France and the United States respectively, marched before the team of the host nation Japan, instead of entering one-hundred-fifty-fourth (between Brazil and Bulgaria) and seventh (between Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates) respectively, as they ordinarily would according to the Gojūon, the Japanese script order."

[SunnyBeBe]

Do those with their masks below their noses’s get penalized points?  😆

[Peace 47]

It’s a creative concept to depict the individual sports logos in that way, but the execution is a bit odd and amateurish.  The jerky camera work is either making me sick or I have a migraine coming on.

[Lady Whistleup]

The sports emojis dance was super cool. I could watch it on rewind.

[Peace 47]

Just now, Lady Whistleup said:

The sports emojis dance was super cool. I could watch it on rewind.

Lol, now I feel bad for razzing it.  I really think I am getting a migraine, so disregard my negativity.  Screen off!

[emmawoodhouse]

1 hour ago, Rootbeer said:

Somebody did say it at the beginning of the broadcast this morning, I think it was edited out tonight.  This morning, they said that the countries were alphabetical by Japanese spelling when the first country after Greece (Iceland?) was announced.  It was a little frustrating not knowing the order that the teams would enter, made me wish I had studied Japanese.

There was a running crawl on the bottom of the screen that showed upcoming countries. France, USA, and Japan were last due to being host country and the next two in line. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m trying to keep an open mind.  I do like most if it. My mom watched earlier and said it was terrible, in her opinion. She said she didn’t get it.  

[gatopretoNYC]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Having both a man and woman carrying each flag sounds good in theory.  In practice, it's bloody stupid.  Have two flags or alternate or something, but two people trying to carry the same flag is just awkward as hell.

When I heard there would be two flag bearers, I thought they would each have a flag. I agree, two people sharing a flag was mostly awkward.

59 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I loved Imagine!🥰😍😻

I liked it too, but I feel like South America and Asia got screwed representation-wise.

52 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I thought the Drone/Globe floating over the Stadium was Cool!  

Very cool! 

[legaleagle53]

24 minutes ago, gatopretoNYC said:

I liked it too, but I feel like South America and Asia got screwed representation-wise.

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I agree. Besides, I HATE "Imagine." I'd much rather they'd used "We Are the World."

[ferjy]

3 hours ago, TigerLily20 said:

I honestly don't know, I am getting annoyed by the constant commercials, just let it run, we all know it's already pre-recorded....

Dang commercials are replacing a good chunk of the performances. I’m in Canada and CBC cut out the pictogram performers. CBC showed us 5 minutes of commercials instead. 😒 I thought I was losing it when everyone was going on about them. Pictograms? What pictograms? I saw it on NBC later. There were a few other things we missed. 

 

[candall]

15 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I love that 2 1/2 hours into the opening ceremonies and the only comments we have are for Pita! 😆

But there was a lot of drumming and tap dancing and clippety clopping on tables . . . . built out of wood from trees brought to the Olympics in the form of seeds by athletes from all over the world in 1964?   

Er, that's heavy!  I would have been interested in hearing a little bit more about that. 

Did they really cut down an international forest they'd been growing for nearly 60 years to produce three minutes of opening ceremony and then barely give a passing mention to the wooden source material?

0.o

[Mirabelle]

I enjoyed most of the ceremony but I also think opening ceremonies have been trending towards bloated. The one sour note was "Imagine" - the performances were good but I hate that song. My favorite part was the pictogram guy - I wouldn't be surprised if the Pictogram challenge is the next Tik Tok/YouTube trend - and the globe made out of the drones. That was just stunning.

[Mirabelle]

9 minutes ago, candall said:

But there was a lot of drumming and tap dancing and clippety clopping on tables . . . . built out of wood from trees brought to the Olympics in the form of seeds by athletes from all over the world in 1964?   

Er, that's heavy!  I would have been interested in hearing a little bit more about that. 

Did they really cut down an international forest they'd been growing for nearly 60 years to produce three minutes of opening ceremony and then barely give a passing mention to the wooden source material?

 

From Today.com:

"Next, five large wooden rings, each more than 12 feet wide, were carried onstage and surrounded by paper lanterns. The rings were made out of lumber from trees that were planted by athletes who participated in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, when competitors from each participating country brought seeds to Tokyo to be planted as commemorative trees. As the trees grew, they were relocated to different areas in Japan so that they could grow. The five rings were then pulled together to form the iconic Olympic Rings."

 

It sounds to me like there are multiple forests growing from the seeds those athletes brought so Japan didn't cut down all the trees. 

Edited July 24, 2021 by Mirabelle