We're not usually big TV watchers.
{We don't have cable ... Someone had to explain to me who the Duggars are!}
But every four years scrounge for the remote watch the world convene together on one stage. Friday night we camped out in basement ... had toast and tea and Dubliner cheese, and toasted the sky-diving queen and her cute corgis using mugs celebrating her Diamond Jubilee. Every piece of living room furniture is now viewed as a vault to our seven-year-old, who along with following gymnastics is smitten with Team USA swim teams (and familiar with the names of their greatest rivals.)
The Olympics aren't as pure as they once were. There are weird sports (synchronized diving?), and strange outfits (what was up with those boots, Czech Republic?), and in our part of the world really poor commentary (come on Matt and Meredith!) You have to wonder if Ann Curry isn't just a little happy about being let go in time to remain a respectable journalist ... they actually tried to link the country of Madagascar to the animated film by the same name, and Kazakhstan to Borat. {We do watch movies, just not much TV.} It would be encouraging to think that the announcers might actually give their listening audience the benefit of the doubt, that they have in fact seen a globe before!
The opening ceremonies were British quirky. It wasn't Beijing, and I think that's okay. (We were possibly a little over Beijing, having lived through the ramp-up and re-routed traffic, so in retrospect we probably should have been more impressed with the shock and awe and pulled-out stops that China pulled off four years ago.) GBR had the queen, and Mr Bean, and although some of it went on a little too long (including the Phelps/Seacrest piece that American's saw instead of the 7/7 tribute) it was a Friday night well spent ... especially since the 007 opening act was followed up by that fabulous parade of countries.
Four years ago we watched the Olympic torch pass right by our home in Qingdao. It was an amazing moment. There is so much excitement for so many people, not just the athletes, that is a part of the Olympic wonder. Even before the "Thirtieth Olympiad of the Modern Era" began, people all over the world had already begun the slow migration that will bring our focus together for a few weeks. And, witnessing that camaraderie celebrated on a global scale will even make enduring bad commentary worth it.
Old posts on the topic of the world coming together in a similar way:
http://thejohnsonsinchina.blogspot.com/2010/06/fifa-fever.html
http://thejohnsonsinchina.blogspot.com/2010/06/world-at-our-doorstep.html
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