July 27, 2024

"As the boats ferrying the athletes moved along the Seine, what stood out was what was missing."

"The great mass of athletes in one place, moving in a continuous tide. The chaotic palette of national costumes, the different marching styles, the proud flag bearers. Few events more effectively combined the monumental and the individual. Everything about Friday’s ceremony and broadcast worked to diminish the athletes. Sitting in cheering clumps, sometimes three and four countries together, they looked like passengers on party boats competing to make the most noise, to signal that their country was having the most fun."

From "Opening Ceremony Misses the Boat/The Paris Games began with a new look and sparkled with Celine Dion. But the show suffered from bloat similar to TV’s other spectacles" (NYT).

65 comments:

doctrev said...

The athletes were just excited to be part of an interesting opening ceremony in one of the world's most beautiful city. Yes, it mocked Christ and royalty, but if you're surprised by that in globalist Paris then you just might be the target audience.

Though seriously: how many hours did anyone have to watch the whole thing?

Heartless Aztec said...

The Olympics are passe. Or maybe I am. For decades now...

Joe Bar said...

Who actually watches this stuff? I have never been interested in the Olympics, with the rare exception of a spectacular Men's Alpine Downhill run.

Rusty said...

Waht are the Olympics when compared to Paris.

Leland said...

We caught the very start while having lunch at a local bar. The kids getting the torch from a guy stuck on a train, then running down the subway tunnel to then take a maintenance exit to the catacombs with human skulls and alligator in the water. Finally, the board a boat that looks like it is ready to take them across Styx. That’s when it flashes to Macron.

donald said...

I like the girls volleyball. Period the end.

rhhardin said...

In Greek mythology, Charon is a psychopomp, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and the dead. Archaeology confirms that, in some burials, low-value coins known generically as Charon's obols were placed in, or, or near the mouth of the deceased, or next to the cremation urn containing their ashes. This has been taken to confirm that at least some aspects of Charon's mytheme are reflected in some Greek and Roman funeral practices, or else the coins function as a viaticum for the soul's journey.

Temujin said...

It may have diminished the athletes, but it did promote the trans and drag queens. Which, let's face it, has long been missing from the...uh...the Olympics? I guess.
Has anyone seen Western Civilization? I seem to have lost it. It was just here a few years ago and I cannot remember where I put it.

Another old lawyer said...

I don't think they've invented an instrument that can measure how small my interest is in the Olympics.

rhhardin said...

I was in Paris in 1960 and it was a slum.

Tina Trent said...

The opening games certainly sent a message to Christians and real women: we mock your existence. Why not just finish the job and ban real women from women's sports. Eliminate them.

And tell me why we don't ban Iran, again?

Eliminating real women is, after all, the plan. France, Iran: Why drag it out?

I wonder if the closing ceremonies will similarly mock the Muslim faith. Under/over, anyone?

Sally327 said...

Was it not possible to find any attractive and talented transgender / nonbinary performers? Or was that supposed to be part of the message? The athletes represent the best, most skilled, usually attractive because they're so fit, etc., and so maybe this was intended to highlight that contrast. Georgeous athletes in the games, unappealing skit artists in the opening ceremony.

Mitt Romney liked it.

Kakistocracy said...

I hope it goes well for them, but I still remember the amusing story arguably behind how London beat Paris to the games in 2012. Chirac, while slating British cuisine, said "the only food that's worse is Finnish", not realizing that two of the delegates for the final vote were Finnish and was widely believed to have tipped the bid in London's favor.

Dave Begley said...

One men’s soccer player and one female sand volleyball player are Creighton alums!

hawkeyedjb said...

Just another corporatized mega-sport spectacle: overhyped, uninteresting and presented with purposeful insults to the audience. Did the Olympics teach the NFL-NHL-NBA-MLB how to be boring and bland or was it the other way around?

GatorNavy said...

I enjoyed watching the athletes wave their respective flags and mug for the cameras. Bonus the only Metal act I can recall playing at the Olympic opening ceremonies. The drag queens and the runway nonsense, meh.

Bob Boyd said...

The Olympics are inherently nationalistic and a celebration of individual achievement. Yuck.
To fully embrace modernity and progress, we need to do away with all the sporting events and just televise the meetings of the Olympic Committee.

john said...

Celine Dion was a high point. Well, since I didnt watch any of the rest, it was my only point. It was a comeback for her. Her fans think she really nailed it and I think so too.

I would have really got a kick out of Mirelle Mathieu singing the Marseillaise, but she is older than me maybe doesnt have the voice anymore. Still.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Now I'm kind of wondering when it first got started that the athletes have to put on a parade for the gawkers instead of just show up on time for their own event. I could look it up but I'm not going to bother.

Achilles said...

From "Opening Ceremony Misses the Boat/The Paris Games began with a new look and sparkled with Celine Dion. But the show suffered from bloat similar to TV’s other spectacles" (NYT).

I was in an X space when I saw what they did.

Everyone there was in agreement: None of us would have objected mightily if a meteor struck the place.

The people that put this together want humanity destroyed.

Freeman Hunt said...

Wonder if any athletes opted out of being on crowded boats.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The trans militant-gay and pedo games. That's what is needed. Soros would be proud.

Tina Trent said...

Where the hell is the Pope, denouncing this blasphemy?

If they mocked Islam or transgenders, our athletes would be on a plane coming home now.

You know it's true.

Kate said...

The opening ceremony was very French. They've been promoting this lifestyle for 100 years. It was silly and well-produced.

We wanted to watch the athletes, but Team USA took so long to get to the boat ride, none of our favorites were there. That was the main detriment. The top athletes wouldn't halt training and prep long enough to wait for the barge.

Except poor LeBron, voted by his teammates to carry the flag. He was stuck on the prow for hours.

Tom T. said...

The opening ceremonies always diminish the athletes. The parade of nations has always been the dullest part of the show, when most viewers would tune out. They tried to avoid that this time by mixing the parade into the ready of the show, but that may have just made people drift away even earlier.

BG said...

I thought it was just something from the Babylon Bee. Then I found out “nope, just Babylon.”

William said...

Sabotaged trains. Rainy weather. WTF opening ceremony. Let's hope things get better....I wonder if the Olympics will ever go the way of World Fairs. From the Crystal Palace on, they got bigger and better, and then they were no more....I'm glad the USA chose Lebron James to be our standard banner. He's finally getting some fame and recognition. It's a pity that it took the Olympic committee to give this little known athlete in this obscure sport the renown that he and his sport deserve...

Narr said...

I saw only scattered moments, but managed to light on that Gaga woman clomping up and down the stairs twice. What are the chances?

Didn't see the sacrilege that others have mentioned, but saw the opera singer atop the Orangerie(?) and the last moments of the after-dark symphony and chorus performance in front of the Eiffel Tower.

You couldn't pay me enough to watch the Olympics, or travel to see them.

Big Mike said...

Can-Can dancers were cool. They had nothing to do with athletic competition of course, but a lot to do with Paris.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...

I've been to France many times, usually for work, and speak the language with almost-native fluency. Never been to Paris, and zero desire ever to do so. Grubby large city, infested with arrogant natives and feral muzzies. Nothing there I care to visit in person; now toss in the Olympics debacle to make everything 4x as expensive and even more crowded. Non, merci.

The rural and small-town areas, however, are another story -- nice, hardworking, friendly folk, and the food is much better than Paris is essentially known for. Northwestern France is wonderful.

Quaestor said...

"If they mocked Islam or transgenders, our athletes would be on a plane coming home now."

I waited for the Painted Perverts™️ barge with the "Muhammad Does the Babu Aws Thing" tableau for hours, but nope... Must have been a techical glitch, right?

Quaestor said...

...techical glitch...

That was a technical glitch, I swear! Just like the missing Islam and Drag Queen mockery barges, right?

Wilbur said...

Why isn't Can-Can dancing an Olympic event? It's no less an athletic display than many so-called sports.

Wilbur's Rule: It's not a sport if the winner is determined by someone's opinion.

The Olympics have been marketed primarily to women viewers for many years now. That's fine with me, because I'm interested in about 2% of the events, and none of the so-called pageantry.

Quaestor said...

"Northwestern France is wonderful."

Must be the Flemish influence.

Les Parisiens reçoivent le traitement qu'ils méritent.

Old and slow said...

"Bloat" was the very least of its faults.

robother said...

When it comes to sports, I hate show boaters.

Quaestor said...

Wilbur's Rule: It's not a sport if the winner is determined by someone's opinion.

Speed skating is a sport.

Figure skating is high-speed ballet on a slippery stage.

The 200-meter Freestyle is a sport.

Synchronized Swimming is comedy gold!

Paddy O said...

Couldn't be worse than the 2012 London opening which featured a celebration of Sharkey's takeover of the Shire.

I think it was intended to be about the industrial revolution or something and the NHS, but it was clear it had been designed by the deposed Saruman

Old and slow said...

The smoke fireworks on the bridge creating the colors of the French flag were spectacular. Also the metal guitarists. I could do without the fat bearded transvestites,but to each his own.

Paddy O said...

I used to like watching the Olympics because it was a chance to watch sports I've never watched. The coverage changed to a lot of personal stories ( I don't care) and more and more on cable or pay. That plus the massively increased visibility of corruption and it turning into profit for all involved really broke what the Olympics was intended to be. But that was unavoidable in our world.

RCOCEAN II said...

Supposedly there was drag parody of the Last Supper, and Big-time "Christians" thought it was wonderful. God, what a loser religion.

NBC's coverage has always sucked. ABC did it much better, but they were to patriotic so NBC spent a fortune to get them and has made them what they are today.

If you can get BBC or CBC's coverage, give that a try. 100x better.

RCOCEAN II said...

Mitt Romney loved the opening ceremony. THe man has the taste of a 60 y/o cat lady who read the NYTs. I'm always shocked at how shallow his mind is. One could open it up and see nothing but old TV shows, love for $$, and a hatred of anything not NYT's approved.

Quaestor said...

Downhill Racing is a sport.

Biathlon is a survival skill.

Luge is falling off a mountain feet-first.

2-Person Luge is gay pornography.

Bobsled is an E-ticket Disney World ride.

Four-man Bob is the E-ticket price split four ways.

Two-woman Bod is a Penthouse photo spread.

Women's monobob is a hairstyle.

Yancey Ward said...

They obviously don't want to highlight the athletes who are almost 100% young, lean, physically impressive, and good looking as opposed old/middle aged, fat, gone to seed, and ugly as all fuck.

Michael McNeil said...

“Northwestern France is wonderful.”

Must be the Flemish influence.


They're on the opposite side of France (NE). For the northwest, it would be the Breton (British speaking) influence from Brittany.

Paddy O said...

"Why isn't Can-Can dancing an Olympic event? It's no less an athletic display than many so-called sports."

The Olympics used to include all sorts of competitions that weren't sports.

An elegant event for a more civilized age.

Narayanan said...

I learned something new Firstpost is an Indian news and media website.

Quaestor said...

Michel McNeil writes"They're on the opposite side of France (NE)"

Thanks, I never realized Luxembourg was part of Flanders.

It all depends on where you draw that North/South axis, doesn't it? And whether you know a joke (or attempted joke) when you see it.

Anthony said...

Olympics? They still do those?

Quaestor said...

The way things are progressing in the IOC, the Games will eventually return to their Classical Age incarnation -- no women allowed and all the spectators are nude.

robother said...

Talk about burying the lede. The Socialists in their Centrist alliance defeating Le Pen are showing their teeth: both Korean Olympic teams were announced as representing North Korea. The One Korea policy keeps France in the vanguard: One China is old hat.

Joe Smith said...

They did their best to promote queer everything and shit all over Christianity at the same time.

Mission accomplished.

n.n said...

Roe, Roe, Roe your athlete... but not forgotten.

n.n said...

The pride of Christophobia, and misogyny on parade. Progress.

Narr said...

Makes me nostalgic for the great days of the East German Youthsex Teams.

Was Russia invited this time? The Reds spent so much money and time creating dumb jocks as good as any in the world, and post-Sov Russia barely registers.

Kirk Parker said...

Bart Hall: "Northwestern France is wonderful."

Quaestor: "Must be the Flemish influence.
"

Nah, it's because it's the part closest to England.

rehajm said...

I watched a good chunk of it in the cell phone lot, then went back and watched the beginning with the SO. The SO is apparently trustee of a good chunk of Paris, I discovered. own it. own it. own it. Sacre bleu!

We just watched rugby. Also enjoyable. Imma watch the golf. Men’s and Women’s.

Krumhorn said...

I thought it was a unique opening with all those bateaux on the Seine...in the rain. The galloping horse was fun. When you have la Tour Eiffel as part of the production set, you can't go mauvais. Savannah's "hot and bothered" androgynous thruple of two feygele and one something-or-other I could have done without.

The wokesters are societal bacteria that must be yanked out root and branch.

- Krumhorn

john mosby said...

At first I thought the band in the buidling with Marie Antoinette was the Eagles of Death Metal - you know, the band almost killed in the Bataclan massacre.

But no. Of course not. What was I thinking?

But I am sure they will play at President Le Pen’s inauguration….

JSM

john mosby said...

Oh wait - the Minions were in it. That redeems the whole thing!

JSM (John Singleton Minion)

narciso said...

the IOC seeing it laid an egg, logically, is trying to strike down the sites that pointed out
their folly, logically

Jim at said...

My wife wanted to watch it ... until I told her there was a bunch of drag queen bullshit in it.

Hard pass.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Why do producers keep trying to cram cross-dressing freaks into ceremonies? The cutline quoted was correct in that the “ceremony” didn’t highlight athletes at all. At least in Beijing they all marched in waving flags and being a part of the show. Did Paris hire Disney to make it gay and feature girlboss for no apparent reason?

Ambrose said...

Shorter NYT: "I'm so smarter than you, look how I find fault with something you like."

Marc in Eugene said...

Where the hell is the Pope, denouncing this blasphemy?

I don't know. I do know that the statement of the French Bishops contained two or three anodyne sentences lamenting the blasphemy and the offense to believers and then another several paragraphs about how happy the Church is to be part of the wonderful, French Olympic celebrations.

The French province of the FSSPX will be adding the De profundis and the Parce Domine parce populo tuo: ne in aeternum irascaris nobis after each Mass celebrated in their churches tomorrow, in reparation for the blasphemous parody broadcast to so many millions.