The Closing Ceremonies: See you in Tokyo 2020

[Daisy]

Bye Pita!

wait. um. no. NBC.. where's the scenic stuff? NBC.....?

(sigh). NBC.... you ruined my montage, dude.

[Daisy]

Im a liar. i'm crying. it's not the same montage, but it's cool. 
 

.... They cut the montage. 
for the Voice?

NBC... for real?

[MaKaM]

7 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Bye Pita!

wait. um. no. NBC.. where's the scenic stuff? NBC.....?

(sigh). NBC.... you ruined my montage, dude.

Yesterday's broadcast had some credits that had beautiful scenic shots and gorgeous music. If you have that one still recorded, check it out.

[briochetwist]

5 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Im a liar. i'm crying. it's not the same montage, but it's cool. 
 

.... They cut the montage. 
for the Voice?

NBC... for real?

It's The Marriage Ref all over again. I warned you....

[irisheyes]

11 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

The saddest thing for me is that I probably will never see my greased up Tonga boyfriend Pita ever again.  'Bye, Pita. *sniff*

There's always you tube. The Internet is forever.  :)

[IdleBrook]

Did they cut the part where they preview Pyeongchang?  I was expecting shots of snowcapped mountains and Gracie Gold, and it just stopped and went to the Vocie.

[ketchuplover]

For those interested your PBS stations (if you have them) might have news programs from Japan/Asia.   May we all reassemble here in good health for the next Winter Olympic Games.  Arigato.

[tanyak]

1 hour ago, kathy42977 said:

This program Tokyo  is putting on is better then anything we have seen in London or Rio.

This is just freakin' INCREDIBLE!

Right?? I.am.ready.

[legaleagle53]

13 minutes ago, IdleBrook said:

Did they cut the part where they preview Pyeongchang?  I was expecting shots of snowcapped mountains and Gracie Gold, and it just stopped and went to the Vocie.

They don't preview the host city of the winter games during the closing ceremony of the summer games or vice versa.  Pyeongchang had its preview in Sochi in 2014.  Similarly, Tokyo won't get a preview in 2018.

Edited August 22, 2016 by legaleagle53

[blackwing]

I was disappointed with the NBC montage.  The music wasn't inspiring, it was too short, and it seemed to end abruptly with a few words from, of course, Phelps.  Seemed very anticlimactic.  It started with mostly American highs, fails from athletes of all nations, and then Phelps.  I was expecting it to pick up again with more inspirational clips, but then it just cut to the Voice.  

I grow more and more tired of Bob Costas every Olympics.  I remember the pink eye issues from last time.  But has his left eye always looked much squintier than his right?  Too bad NBC has the Olympics locked up for the next 16 years.  I shudder to think that we could have Ryan Seacrest in the Bob Costas or Matt Lauer role in the near future.   I don't understand why networks think people love him.  Many people I know outright despise him.

[Daisy]

3 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

They don't preview the host city of the winter games during the closing ceremony of the summer games or vice versa.  Pyeongchang had its preview in Sochi in 2014.  Similarly, Tokyo won't get a preview in 2018.

Really? because in 2010 (I just watched it) NBC previewed London.  then London previewed Sochi. 
they must have changed it up. 

But! I didn't see a "Tokyo preview" from NBC either. 

 

21 minutes ago, MaKaM said:

Yesterday's broadcast had some credits that had beautiful scenic shots and gorgeous music. If you have that one still recorded, check it out.

No :( I didn't get to see and I am archaic and don't have any recording devices. 

21 minutes ago, briochetwist said:

It's The Marriage Ref all over again. I warned you....

You did. (sigh). 
the Montage was different too. I dunno I liked the older ones. (I watched the 2010 one to make myself feel better, and by feel better I mean sob like a baby. I swear. I am like a stone in normal life. Olympics turns me into the biggest sap but seeing Crosby score that golden goal gets to me every time - especially because I kind of predicted it, by saying "god, just someone score, Even crosby  and I'll never say a bad thing about him again." (sigh). 

[legaleagle53]

Don't forget about the Paralympics, everyone.  The Games start September 7, and they'll be available in full on YouTube!

[roamyn]

Rio had the best 'flame out',

But Albertville had the best lighting.

[legaleagle53]

24 minutes ago, roamyn said:

Rio had the best 'flame out',

But Albertville had the best lighting.

Please.  Barcelona set the gold standard for the most dramatic lighting.

[MaKaM]

Yeah, nothing can top Barcelona unless aliens with laser eyes come and light Tokyo's cauldron (it's possible!)

[MVFrostsMyPie]

One of the clay dancers couldn't find her partner. Anyone else catch that? 

[stealinghome]

Barcelona's lighting was AMAZING. Hands-down the best ever.

[selkie]

49 minutes ago, MaKaM said:

Yeah, nothing can top Barcelona unless aliens with laser eyes come and light Tokyo's cauldron (it's possible!)

If they're already got Hello Kitty, Godzilla has to have a role as well.

[Talky Tina]

5 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

La la la la la.  I can't hear you!

Besides, I'm on the Left Coast - AND I'm on DVR delay.  ;-)

On a much too personal (and much too maudlin) note, I want to tell you all how much I've appreciated reading all your posts and sharing this experience with you.  I've always "done" the Olympics with my Mum, no matter how far apart we've lived; this time around, she's in hospice in Canada, so it's probably our last hurrah.  Somehow sharing the Olympic spirit with y'all, and sharing your insights and comments with my Mum each day, has made life more bearable these past weeks, and I am grateful.

See you in the forums (yes, the "other" PTV forums I've been ignoring!).  :-)

I have great memories of watching the Olympics with my mom as well, watching the games always brings up a lot of emotions.  Much love to you and your mom,  you're both in my thoughts. 

The cauldron was absolutely beautiful.  I seriously teared up when it went dark.

2020 seems so far away. 

[andromeda331]

I loved how the singer just kept on singing even though she was getting rained on. Not even a pause or hesitation just kept on singing. Also, Hello Kitty!

[MaKaM]

For anyone who wanted a scenic montage: http://stream.nbcolympics.com/nbc-day-15-primetime

Skip to around 3:48:15 if you don't want to watch it all again.

[NUguy514]

I loved these Games, and I'm sad they're over.  I'm really happy that the Cariocas, for the most part, pulled these off without a hitch and gave the world a glimpse into their incredible city and country.  I loved the opening and closing ceremonies, and the cauldron and the extinguishing of the cauldron were absolutely my favorites ever!

I am exceedingly glad that I won't have to see Bob Costas, who irritated me more this Olympics than he has in previous Olympics, verbally fellate Michael Phelps, whom I like well enough, and Usain Bolt, whom I love, ever again (although I'm sure he'll find a way to do so in every Olympics from now until he retires just to piss me off).  ENOUGH already!

I totally cried at the closing montage.  I will hold very dear the following moments/events from these Games: Simone Manuel's win, Wayde Van Niekerk's win, Simone Biles and the Final Five showing us what domination looks like, Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin showing us in a huge and powerful way what the Olympic spirit is all about, Chaunté Lowe showing us in a small and just as powerful way what the Olympic spirit is all about, and the entirety of Maracanã Stadium singing the Brazilian national anthem.  

See you all in Pyeongchang!

[SnideAsides]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

What would be the American equivalent of the Japanese Prime Minister turning into Mario and popping out of a pipe? Obama digging out of the dirt and declaring that he should have made the left turn at Albuquerque?

Donald Trump falling off the back of a lorry.

[greyhorse]

The closing ceremonies are always ho-hum for me.  It's always sad and anticlimactic.  Sad that I'll no longer have any Olympics to watch when I get home from work.  But semi-relieved that now I can look at ESPN, CNN, and Yahoo during the day without fear of being spoiled.

Bob Costas said something like "we've not only shown you great competition, but we've tried to show you the culture and life in Rio."  They have?  Maybe all these human interest stories were shown during the Rio Gold, or whatever they called the hour before the main broadcast?  I guess they don't want to waste primetime hours with five minutes of non-competition, so I guess it makes sense.  I usually don't like those pieces, but Rio looks spectacular from the air and it would have been great to see more of the city.

I thought the closing montage was quite quick and when it ended after Phelps talking, I thought that it must have been a mistake.  Then the Voice suddenly came on and I realized that was it?  NBC needs to take a look at how CBS does "One Shining Moment" at the end of the NCAA tournament.  After the Voice and the news, then there was a rerun of the ceremony, but this time there was an hour of Bob and Al talking.  Maybe I missed it the first go around.  Was happy to see that this was a more in-depth recap of the games.

Gabby Douglas was conspicuously absent when they showed Simone, Aly, Laurie, and Madison on camera at the ceremony.  Sure, it was only 2 seconds of screen time.  But her absence was noticeable.  It certainly doesn't help the image that she was disconnected from the team and sulking in her lack of individual success.  

Loved the shots of all the athletes wanting selfies with Simone.

The extinguishing of the cauldron was unique, but come on, it's not the water that makes the flame go out.  It's when the woman finishes her song and the guy turns the gas to off is how it goes out.

[SnideAsides]

Barcelona's archer appeared on China's version of The Amazing Race last week. (The current season seems to have an Olympic theme; the episode ended in the Barcelona Olympic stadium.) On the other hand, the Albertville cauldron was lit, in part, by disgraced FIFA executive Michel Platini.

[roamyn]

5 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Please.  Barcelona set the gold standard for the most dramatic lighting.

Sorry, I disagree.  The skill required by the archer and the risk/reward factor, were higher.

 

ETA:  I'm confused.  Wasn't it Albertville that had the archer light the cauldron?

Edited August 22, 2016 by roamyn

[SnideAsides]

Barcelona was the archer though. Albertville was Michel Platini helping a kid set off a bottle rocket. Are you thinking of Lillehammer with the ski jumper?

[roamyn]

9 minutes ago, SnideAsides said:

Barcelona was the archer though. Albertville was Michel Platini helping a kid set off a bottle rocket. Are you thinking of Lillehammer with the ski jumper?

Wow, my memory's bad.  I could've sworn the archer was Albertville.  Thanks, snideasides.

 

Ok, I take it back.  Barcelona had the best lighting of the cauldron.

Edited August 22, 2016 by roamyn

[anyanka323]

9 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

What would be the American equivalent of the Japanese Prime Minister turning into Mario and popping out of a pipe? Obama digging out of the dirt and declaring that he should have made the left turn at Albuquerque? And, of course, Hello Kitty made an appearance. Is she going to be co-opted as the mascot for the 2020 Games?

Hillary rising out of the flames with baby dragons or feeding Donald Trump/Kenneth Starr some special pie. 

[ElDosEquis]

Short Track Speed Skating.

Now, off to see how the Olympic Channel WON'T be offered on anything except a 'personal info device' on which I refuse use to watch any TV?

[ElDosEquis]

4 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

Donald Trump falling off the back of a lorry.

How's about Hillary divorcing and remarrying that Lochte, That way she can send him to the 2020 games to rehab his image as the first idiot?

[tennisgurl]

Oh Japan. Never change. 

What will I do without my Olympics fix now?!?!

[walnutqueen]

From Ryan fuckin Seacrest to Miley fuckin Cyrus - surely the apocalyptic bookends.

I need to go watch Fear The Walking Dead now.

[Fukui San]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

What would be the American equivalent of the Japanese Prime Minister turning into Mario and popping out of a pipe? Obama digging out of the dirt and declaring that he should have made the left turn at Albuquerque? And, of course, Hello Kitty made an appearance. Is she going to be co-opted as the mascot for the 2020 Games?

Obama

Dressed like Larry the Cable Guy

Sitting in the bed of a pickup truck

Atop a pile of guns, bibles, and Bud Light.

Either that or Hillary dressed like a Ghostbuster as Donald heckles her continuously.

[mtlchick]

Surprisingly this is probably the first games where I failed to see the lighting of the cauldron AND didn't watch any of the closing (I had too much stuff on my PVR that I had to burn through.)  That said, I did see the Nintendo shout out (can I hope Yoshi is the mascot in 2020?) and Pita the Oily Man gets his stand alone moment.

 

Quote

Please.  Barcelona set the gold standard for the most dramatic lighting.

As inspiring as Gretzky was when he lit it in Vancouver, THIS.  Though I can see Tokyo trying to top it.

[Daisy]

(laugh) I can see the Tokyo committee people now. 
"how do we top Barcelona."
Ah! i know! 

we have a player touch a fire flower, transform into Super Mario and shoot fireballs into the cauldron that has a piraña plant! the plant dies, and the cauldron is on fire! YAY!

[DollEyes]

Tokyo, you had me at "Hello Kitty" & "Prime Minister 'Super Mario.'" The latter was even better than Queen Elizabeth skydiving with James Bond at London's 2012 Opening Ceremonies.

Quote

If they've already got Hello Kitty, Godzilla has to have a role as well.

 I can see it now: a video of Godzilla stomping through Tokyo with a giant torch. Make it so, Tokyo!  

 I think Atlanta in 1996 had the best torch ceremony. Two words: "Muhammad Ali." 

Edited August 22, 2016 by DollEyes

[Cherpumple]

I thought the ceremony was fine (the ending was the best part), but I was distracted the whole time by how empty the stadium looked. I don't even think it was half full! Not sure if it was the rain or just poor ticket sales, but it was depressing to see.

[blackwing]

14 minutes ago, Cherpumple said:

I thought the ceremony was fine (the ending was the best part), but I was distracted the whole time by how empty the stadium looked. I don't even think it was half full! Not sure if it was the rain or just poor ticket sales, but it was depressing to see.

I agree.  And it looked like at least half the athletes bailed because of the rain.  If I lived in Rio and I had a ticket, you can bet I'd have been there, rain or not.  It's the Olympics, in your home city, probably won't be repeated in your lifetime.  Same goes for the athletes.  They had ponchos.  They are among the elite sportsmen of the world.  It rains and they decide they are going to cut short their Olympic experience?  I loved the article on the CBC website filled with photos from Canadian athletes of the closing ceremony.  More than a few of them commented on how special it was just to take part in the Olympics and the walk into the stadium.

[greyhorse]

23 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I agree.  And it looked like at least half the athletes bailed because of the rain.  If I lived in Rio and I had a ticket, you can bet I'd have been there, rain or not.  It's the Olympics, in your home city, probably won't be repeated in your lifetime.  Same goes for the athletes.  They had ponchos.  They are among the elite sportsmen of the world.  It rains and they decide they are going to cut short their Olympic experience?  I loved the article on the CBC website filled with photos from Canadian athletes of the closing ceremony.  More than a few of them commented on how special it was just to take part in the Olympics and the walk into the stadium.

I think the closing ceremony just isn't a big deal for a lot of people.  I think in person, it must be fun.  Seems like a party atmosphere - the music, the dancing, the camaraderie, etc.  The camera always pans to athletes and they are smiling, jumping around, and looking like they are having a good time.  But on tv, it's just not exciting, at least in my opinion.  In fact, rather boring.  It's basically a halftime show on steroids.  After you've seen enough college marching bands form cool designs and formations, you've seen them all.

I think a lot of the athletes obviously went home.  Whereas the opening ceremony is filled with a lot of anticipation and excitement, the closing ceremony is a finality that to me is always a bit of a downer.  The Rio stands have been empty pretty much for a lot of the competitions.  Most noticeably track and field.  I think the Brazil soccer and volleyball matches were the only times I noticed the stands packed.  Couldn't recall if the men beach volleyball stands were full, I imagine they were, but they weren't for a lot of the matches.  Affordability was likely a factor in getting the locals to come out for the events.  I think I read an article where they said "in a perfect world, the open seats would have been given for free to the children of the favelas", but that logistically wasn't going to happen.

[Daisy]

I have to be honest, for me, I usually bail out after the flame goes out. By that time - you hear the ending speeches, you've seen the handoff, you saw the hint of the next games. Everything after that is a huge party. which... cool but not for me. 

[mtlchick]

Quote

Same goes for the athletes.  They had ponchos.

Or if you were Canadian, maple leaf mittens! (Dammit now I need to buy a pair.)

[Daisy]

10 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

Or if you were Canadian, maple leaf mittens! (Dammit now I need to buy a pair.)

they'll be on sale this week! :) I need to get a pair, i've been remise on buying my mittens (I still have two pairs of Vancouver Mittens).

[Moose135]

I don't know who was who, but when the IOC President was speaking, one of the folks in the booth was quietly translating his comments for the audience.  When he switched to English, someone else in the booth said "I'll translate this part."  I loved that - it's just what I would do!

[kokapetl]

8 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

Barcelona was the archer though. Albertville was Michel Platini helping a kid set off a bottle rocket. Are you thinking of Lillehammer with the ski jumper?

That skiing one would have topped Barcelona if the guy had lit the cauldron as part of his jump. 

[Daisy]

22 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

That skiing one would have topped Barcelona if the guy had lit the cauldron as part of his jump. 

I know! i remember watching it and I was like.. is he going to jump over the caul..... oh. no. 

[selkie]

4 hours ago, greyhorse said:

 

I think a lot of the athletes obviously went home.  Whereas the opening ceremony is filled with a lot of anticipation and excitement, the closing ceremony is a finality that to me is always a bit of a downer. 

And the calendar for each sport moves on quickly while the weather is good in the Northern Hemisphere. For the male road cyclists in the pro peleton, the Vuelta Espana got underway a few hours before the closing ceremonies started. The best of the track & field field left early to avoid jet lag for Diamond League events in Switzerland and Paris this week. The NCAA scholar-athletes (who come from dozens of countries) usually have classes starting up about now. 

And if I was an athlete who didn't have firm plans, I'd probably get out of a Rio and its constant need for extreme vigilance and head out to Iguazu Falls or Patagonia instead of hanging around in a place where my federation is advising people to not leave the athlete village. 

[GreyBunny]

Just got caught up, watched the CBC and NBC broadcasts.  Loved the French(?) team coming in and doing the Get Low dance, that was awesome (the boobs at NBC didn't show it).  Poor Simone Biles with the conga queue of people wanting to get a selfie with her.

Shinzo Abe has a sense of humor, who knew?  I so can't wait for Tokyo, the theme is probably going to be future tech.

Didn't know Peter Mansbridge was such a grump.  Everyone else was drooling over the flagbearer from Tonga and Mansbridge called him a show-off.  Boo, Peter.  Boo.

Quote

 

Gabby Douglas was conspicuously absent when they showed Simone, Aly, Laurie, and Madison on camera at the ceremony.  Sure, it was only 2 seconds of screen time.  But her absence was noticeable.  It certainly doesn't help the image that she was disconnected from the team and sulking in her lack of individual success. 

Gabby did her job and went home without trashing a gas station or lying to authorities.  She can do whatever she wants, she doesn't owe anybody a smile, a fake "BFF with my team" display at the closing ceremonies or anything else.  I don't get why female gymnasts (and ice skaters) have to put on a display of being Super!Best!Friends! at all times with the rest of their country's team or else they're considered poor sports.  Other athletes are allowed personal boundaries with other athletes, they should be able to have them too.

Brazil had a gorgeous cauldron + solar sculpture, but yeah, the Barcelona archer was the best torch lighting ever.

NBC.... you ruined my montage, dude.

No kidding.  No closing ceremony broadcast is complete without a proper montage and a final placard with "See you in [location of next city]."  I want my "See you in Tokyo" placard, dammit!

Edited August 22, 2016 by GreyBunny

[blackwing]

I don't blame Gabby for going home early.  After the way she was thoroughly raked over the coals for everything (not smiling, no hand on heart, etc), she probably just wanted to take her medal and move on.

As far as the Rio kinetic sculpture, the ironic thing is that it was made by an American artist.  I remember being surprised when the NBC announcers said this at the opening ceremonies.  It was indeed a highlight of the Games, but I am surprised that the Rio organizing committee wouldn't have used a Brazilian artist.  Or at least have a foreign artist work together with a local artist to create something that was truly memorable about the Games.

[Ohwell]

5 hours ago, DollEyes said:

I think Atlanta in 1996 had the best torch ceremony. Two words: "Muhammad Ali." 

I think the Atlanta torch ceremony with Ali was the most moving, but the Barcelona archer one was the most awesome.