My family too has a love of the ceremonies. After we have watched one, we always compare it to others from the past that we loved or hated and then discuss where they fall in the rankings. Some people critique movies, we critique ceremonies. Its kind of a hobby of ours :)
This Olympic's Opening Ceremony was fantastic! Perhaps I'm now a bit biased since I was there and the excitement of the place almost overwhelming. There were people streaming in from all over the city converging in to the BC Place Stadium. It started to rain just a little bit as we waited in line, but overall the wait wasn't too bad. When you have a ticket to get into the OC, you are supposed to be seated 1 hour prior so that you can learn about the mildly choreographed audience participation portions of the show. Dina and I were a little late since we decided to stop and get beer outside our section. Luckily the ladies next to us were happy to fill us in on what we were supposed to do with the box of swag that was hung on each and every seat. Inside we had a pale blue dentist poncho, a drum stick, candle, flashlight, and a program book. Everyone was asked to wear white to the game (I own white things), so prior Dina had gone to great lengths earlier in the afternoon to make sure he had a white shirt. When he saw the poncho, he was like, 'well, that was unnecessary', but at least he got a cool new olympic shirt. The rehearsal lasted until about 10 minutes before the actual show started. In the final 10 minutes you could feel the excitement in the building begin to reach epic proportions. When the countdown clock started people were just about at that bursting point. Then the tv part played on the big screen of the mountains and the snowboarder flew down the mountain inside and the crowd let lose.
The rest of the OC kept up with the excitement level and I was not disappointed. Here are a few of my favorite moments. . . .
My teams: Finland, USA, and Canada. I love the athletes coming in! The possibilities of the days to come and medals to win. Tear.
The 900Kg bear that rose out the floor was so unexpected and beautiful. 
This section with the Maple leaves, the fiddler in the canoe with its shadow dancing in the moon and the fiddling tap dancers in rock and roll clothes and tats pumped things up after the slower, more serious portions with the totem poles and trees.
Then came what I thought was the most moving portion of the show, K.D. Lang's rendition of "Hallelujah". Her voice was so soulful and powerful that while it was just her on the podium, that was that was needed -she filled the entire stadium with the song. Tear.
Other parts that I really enjoyed but didn't get pictures, was the orcas swimming on the floor and the awesome poetry slam, which I though totally brought an edgy-ness previously unseen in any OC. They said a few words for the luger from Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili who had died in a horrific high speed training run earlier in the day. The Georgian team actually walked in the opening ceremonies with their black arm bands to symbolize their mourning for their fallen teammate. There was a moment of silence that made the entire stadium eerily silent and still, you could have hear a pin drop in there.
The final portion that was a secret that everyone was speculating about on the street was that of who got the honor of being the final torch runner? Who else but the Great One: Legendary Wayne Gretsky. Part of the hydraulics didn't work, so the back leg of the structure didn't go up but that didn't seem to matter, once again it was a great moment and the crowd went wild. I love this picture of the flame being lit.
What is going to happen in the next 14 days? Hopefully exactly what the Olympics are about; the world coming together to celebrate competition, sportsmanship, and peace. (and perhaps one heck of a good party!) So let the athletes bring everything they got as they strive for faster, stronger, higher; let the Games Begin!
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