The Winter Games
04/02/14 05:25
There was a time, not too long ago, when I could really get worked up about the Winter Olympics. In 1988, the Winter games were held in Calgary and I had been planning for several years to go and witness the olympics first hand. We had a lead on a place to stay with a relative and we studied the various event tickets carefully because we knew that money would be tight. We made a plan to take our children with us and my mother as well so that we could have some child care during some of the events. I wanted to watch skiing, but knew that the outdoor crowd scene wouldn’t be the best place for the children. Tickets were expensive for us so we couldn’t do everything that we wanted, but we did want to see some of the stadium events, especially figure skating, so planned to be a part of the crowd for some preliminary rounds.
Then we received a letter informing us that we had gotten caught up in an elaborate ticket scam and our ticket orders had not been placed. Fortunately for us, the scam was discovered and our check was seized before it was banked, so we weren’t out any money. However, there were few tickets left and we might be able to get to see a couple of outdoor events, but not much. We knew that we would see more by staying home and watching the games on television.
Still, those games were fun to watch. Being in the same time zone as the Olympics means that you are watching in real time and that is a treat.
I still enjoy winter sports, but my enthusiasm has faded considerably. The next time the Winter Olympics were in our time zone was 2002 when they were hosted in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake is a reasonable drive from Rapid City it might have been possible for us to attend, but we never seriously considered making an appearance. I got turned off by all of the advertising and hype and the controversy that occurred before the games. I really don’t remember the details of the controversy, but several members of the International Olympic Committee resigned. The games were so commerce. It wasn’t just that the telecasts were frequently interrupted by commercials. We expected that. But the venues were covered with advertisements and the whole thing seemed to be more about selling products than about pure athletic competition.
What I do remember about 2002 was that the opening ceremonies were on my wife’s birthday. After the games I bought a recording of the music that John Williams composed for the event. It is not bad to have a theme song presented by an orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in honor of the day of your birth. I call the song Susan’s birthday theme song.
This year, I’m barely paying attention.
For the athletes who are attending, it must be an incredibly exciting time. The anticipation of the opening ceremonies must be exciting. Being in Sochi might be an incredible experience with guests from all over the world, hundreds of languages being spoken, and a spirit of hope and competition all wrapped up in warm winter clothing.
4 years ago, when the games were held in Vancouver, we were only one time zone away and many of the big things like opening events were available in real time just an hour later. I watched a little bit of the games.
Watching the games has changed a great deal over the years. It used to be that there would be one US channel that covered the games and most of the coverage was live so which events you got to see depended upon what was going on during the time of day that you could watch. Of course they taped and delayed big events like the opening ceremonies and the hockey finals and we got used to watching events with highlights from the preliminary rounds between the actual runs. There was a lot of production in what we were able to see.
Now the network has a whole bunch of different channels and is broadcasting different things at the same time. We don’t have cable, so we’ll get only on stream of programming on the TV. NBC is taping the opening ceremonies and will air them at 7:30 p.m. Easter Time, which is 5:30 in the afternoon here. Canadian Broadcasting is starting their coverage at 10:30 am Eastern, 8:30 am Mountain time. So I could catch the opening ceremonies on the radio before they are broadcast anywhere in the US. Sochi is 11 hours ahead of Rapid City, so it is possible to be up at 5 am to listen to something that is going on at 4 pm there, but it is unlikely that there are too many fans who are so dedicated that they want to listen in real time. I’ve heard that NBC plans to delay most of their programming, so you can find out results before watching the television program. For those who insist on knowing what is going on in real time, the BBC always broadcasts in real time, so you can follow the games on BBC radio online.
But I am just not as excited. I don’t know the names of many of the athletes. I haven’t been following the qualifying events. I will be traveling on Friday and plan to spend the evening with family and the opening of my sister-in-law’s art show, so probably won’t even watch the opening ceremonies at all. I’ll probably listen to a podcast of the events if for no other reason than to see what music they are creating for the event.
I know it is a big deal for the world to get together for peaceful competition. I know that the eyes of the world are focused on the games. I know that it is a time to be paying attention. But the energy and enthusiasm I once felt are just not present this year.
Maybe I can get up more enthusiasm for the rowing and paddling events in Rio in 2016.
Then we received a letter informing us that we had gotten caught up in an elaborate ticket scam and our ticket orders had not been placed. Fortunately for us, the scam was discovered and our check was seized before it was banked, so we weren’t out any money. However, there were few tickets left and we might be able to get to see a couple of outdoor events, but not much. We knew that we would see more by staying home and watching the games on television.
Still, those games were fun to watch. Being in the same time zone as the Olympics means that you are watching in real time and that is a treat.
I still enjoy winter sports, but my enthusiasm has faded considerably. The next time the Winter Olympics were in our time zone was 2002 when they were hosted in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake is a reasonable drive from Rapid City it might have been possible for us to attend, but we never seriously considered making an appearance. I got turned off by all of the advertising and hype and the controversy that occurred before the games. I really don’t remember the details of the controversy, but several members of the International Olympic Committee resigned. The games were so commerce. It wasn’t just that the telecasts were frequently interrupted by commercials. We expected that. But the venues were covered with advertisements and the whole thing seemed to be more about selling products than about pure athletic competition.
What I do remember about 2002 was that the opening ceremonies were on my wife’s birthday. After the games I bought a recording of the music that John Williams composed for the event. It is not bad to have a theme song presented by an orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in honor of the day of your birth. I call the song Susan’s birthday theme song.
This year, I’m barely paying attention.
For the athletes who are attending, it must be an incredibly exciting time. The anticipation of the opening ceremonies must be exciting. Being in Sochi might be an incredible experience with guests from all over the world, hundreds of languages being spoken, and a spirit of hope and competition all wrapped up in warm winter clothing.
4 years ago, when the games were held in Vancouver, we were only one time zone away and many of the big things like opening events were available in real time just an hour later. I watched a little bit of the games.
Watching the games has changed a great deal over the years. It used to be that there would be one US channel that covered the games and most of the coverage was live so which events you got to see depended upon what was going on during the time of day that you could watch. Of course they taped and delayed big events like the opening ceremonies and the hockey finals and we got used to watching events with highlights from the preliminary rounds between the actual runs. There was a lot of production in what we were able to see.
Now the network has a whole bunch of different channels and is broadcasting different things at the same time. We don’t have cable, so we’ll get only on stream of programming on the TV. NBC is taping the opening ceremonies and will air them at 7:30 p.m. Easter Time, which is 5:30 in the afternoon here. Canadian Broadcasting is starting their coverage at 10:30 am Eastern, 8:30 am Mountain time. So I could catch the opening ceremonies on the radio before they are broadcast anywhere in the US. Sochi is 11 hours ahead of Rapid City, so it is possible to be up at 5 am to listen to something that is going on at 4 pm there, but it is unlikely that there are too many fans who are so dedicated that they want to listen in real time. I’ve heard that NBC plans to delay most of their programming, so you can find out results before watching the television program. For those who insist on knowing what is going on in real time, the BBC always broadcasts in real time, so you can follow the games on BBC radio online.
But I am just not as excited. I don’t know the names of many of the athletes. I haven’t been following the qualifying events. I will be traveling on Friday and plan to spend the evening with family and the opening of my sister-in-law’s art show, so probably won’t even watch the opening ceremonies at all. I’ll probably listen to a podcast of the events if for no other reason than to see what music they are creating for the event.
I know it is a big deal for the world to get together for peaceful competition. I know that the eyes of the world are focused on the games. I know that it is a time to be paying attention. But the energy and enthusiasm I once felt are just not present this year.
Maybe I can get up more enthusiasm for the rowing and paddling events in Rio in 2016.