To Inspire The World

With these opening ceremonies, we set out To Inspire The World, and it worked, from beginning to end.

I arrived home last night and shortly thereafter I turned on the television to watch the Winter Games by way of NBC and CTV. Seemingly there was really not much difference between the two channels with the exception that there were fewer commercials on CTV, which is a Canadian Channel. I was amazed, aside of the fact that there was the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili who passed away and very typical there was that one minute of silence in his honour and for the honour of his teammates within the entire arena you could not hear a single word. The star studded finale began with the arrival of the Olympic flag carried by hockey star Bobby Orr, singer Anne Murray, race car driver Jacques Villeneuve, astronaut Julie Payette, actor Donald Sutherland, Terry Fox's mother, Betty Fox, figure skater Barbara Ann Scott-King and Senator Romeo Dallaire, who led the United Nations and observer mission in Uganda and Rwanda.

I could help but feel a pride as within the manner in which Canada is - it truly was illustrated by way every aspect in which the entire presentation went on.  The identity of the final torchbearer was a topic of much speculation leading up to opening ceremony. But, in the end, it was not a single athlete, but four that lit the cauldron. How typically Canadian.  Famed wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen carried the flame into the stadium where it was passed from gold medal winning speed skater Catriona Le May Doan from Saskatoon, to NBA star Steve Nash to gold medal skier Nancy Greene and, finally, to hockey great Wayne Gretzky.  Within a very tightly held budget for the opening ceremonies in comparison to the last that was held in Beijing. Canada truly showed the culture and diversity from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. I loved the narratives of Donald Southerland as he quoted proverbs from each and ever region of Canada, his voice has with a rasp or tone of his very own kind. The narratives were all so well embedded within Canada’s history as well within the entire program of the ceremonies - it was substance.

From Newfoundland fiddlers and tap dancers, a folk lore rendition of historical value of Quebec, the Maritimes and east coast, the parries which featured the most touching song written by Joni Mitchell from Saskatchewan. As here song was played this young boy ran over the prairie fields and then floats and soars above the audience, with fields of wheat below. You could not hear a word in that dome. Only the waving of glow sticks. This touched me all to well. Shane Koyczan certainly hit the essence of what Canada is, while watching it I certainly hit a chord with me. A tremendous poet whom I have never heard of before hearted the souls of everyone as how he declared what Canada is and will be.  As I recall it there was a mention in that Canadian's say "Please and Thank you" amongst several other very inspiring words. This of all took me of most surprise. I didn’t think that Canada could really be defined so eloquently and precisely as he did. It certainly struck a chord with me. It was something that was so close to how I have always felt about Canada. I am both American and Canadian but I couldn’t help but feel a certain type of pride within all of this.

The rest of the entertainers were great from Nelly Furtado with Bryan Adams - that was a little different, I was surprised that Leonard Cohen didn’t do his own version of Halleluiah, yet KD Lang certain has a voice that still stand to this very day and Sarah McLachlan sang a heart rending version of her song, "Miracle". For this young lady by the name of Nikki Yanofsky she certainly not only warmed up the beginning of the ceremonies with here own rendition of, "Oh Canada". She is really an unknown to many. Yet she shall come to being one just as the others have.
Canadian or not you could help but feel it.

Canadians have always been amicable people, nice people as I heard on the NBC channel. I think that Vancouver certain by way of some tremendous production people that did their homework - literally captured the essence of Canada and the Olympics being played within Canada. As 61,000 thousand people filled BC Place Stadium and three billion viewers around the word watch these opening ceremonies. The mishap with the lighting of the cauldron at the end was just a small flaw as with the colours of the aboriginal people to the illustrations of all parts of Canada. It is a worthy play from which these games can certainly be held with pride for each and every country.

Why I enjoyed the ceremonies so much? It's because it illustrated the culture of Canada. The vast history, the future, the land, the people and the cultural diversity so vast and yet so intertwined.

And now the games have begun...