It’s finally over. What a magnificent closing ceremony… left me speechless. The grand (for want of a better adjective) stadium, the fireworks, the streamers, the 70,000+ audience, the musicians, the shimmering stage, the Greek pop stars…fantastic.
Inspite of some complete boors dismissing the Games as *just another series; what Athens?*, I can’t help thinking: the Olympics are something else altogether… Oh, you need to watch them regularly to know what I’m talking about. This year was full of *moments*.
Each nation seems to have a distinct way of rejoicing. Few Chinese exult the way Americans do. Their joy seems to have a dignity to it, a different poise. Just an observation…NO GENERALISATION! Maaf karo…
It’s touching to see how experienced and apparently *unemotional-looking* athletes break down completely on hearing their country’s national anthem. It’s also inspiring to see contestants from little-known and even *littler-sized* countries come forth to claim their piece of metal. [Sorry, the *metal* reference has been flicked from one of my favourite Olympic quotes which I can’t, for the life of me, recall!]. Tell me, is pole-vaulting/shooting a much-watched sport in Europe? Or any country in the world, for that matter? Yet these guys/gals compete with full enthusiasm and energy… It must be frustrating to spend the better years of your life playing a sport which isn’t the most favourite one in the nation.
Some amazing moments included watching Hisham El Gharrouj, from Morocco, explode with joy on winning 2 golds in the medium distance running events. Fana Halkia, the Greek runner, put such a CONSIDERABLE gap between herself and her nearest competitor while winning the 4×400 women’s hurdles. She seemed to be carried along the track by the passion of the crowd. Man, it was one helluva feeling…The elegance of the Chinese divers, the skill of the Romanian gymnasts, the sheer zest of the American swimmers… oh, these Games are something else.
kookygoblin says:
I suppose after training for the better part of their lives for the events, just being there makes them happy.
August 29, 2004 — 8:47 pm
Lakshmi says:
Guess so!
August 29, 2004 — 8:49 pm
harish_an says:
true…
i love these air new zealand ads…
one shows just the profile shot of the back of a swimmer’s neck throughout the ad ….. you can hear the name being called….the crowd cheering and the little hair on the nape of the neck stands up….then the text “just being there is everything”
(there is another version that shows just one eye….. the pupil dilates and as the national anthem plays tears well up the eyes…
“thats why we helped them get there” (or something like that)
August 29, 2004 — 10:02 pm
Lakshmi says:
Wow… Like the World Cup Cricket was the best time for ads. Do you recall the Pepsi ads (Or was it Coke) shot in Rajasthan and Gujarat? With Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s music… Man, I wish I could see those ads again!
August 30, 2004 — 5:04 am
fugney says:
True, it’s entertaining to watch the olympics. But don’t you suppose we forget that the very person we are watching might be doped, and how much damage these games are doing, and how little they acheive in real terms?
August 30, 2004 — 1:18 am
Lakshmi says:
Yeah, that’s the flip side.. As this guy here explains…
August 30, 2004 — 5:06 am
fugney says:
True. Good if they phase out the games. They have little to do with sportsmanship.
August 30, 2004 — 7:44 am
Lakshmi says:
Oh, that’d be terribly sad.
August 30, 2004 — 8:07 am
fugney says:
For whom?
August 31, 2004 — 3:31 am
Lakshmi says:
Can’t speak for the rest of the world. I’ll say that for myself…
August 31, 2004 — 5:49 am
fugney says:
Precisely my point. You are just being selfish. 🙂
August 31, 2004 — 11:32 pm
lalunadiosa says:
Thanx for the very succinct yet descriptive account of the Olypmics…I don’t have a TV and hence missed the closing ceremonies and didn’t get to see much of the games either….but reading this entry made me feel like I did watch it all!!!!
Thanx again 🙂
August 30, 2004 — 7:42 am
Lakshmi says:
Wallah? I wished I could have written better!
August 30, 2004 — 8:07 am
lalunadiosa says:
You are, of course, your own worst critic!!!!
August 30, 2004 — 9:56 am
Lakshmi says:
Thank God for that! If I had other equally-harsh critics, I’d have been too beaten to write any more..:-)
August 30, 2004 — 10:05 am
shri says:
Ah, but did you watch the Olympic marathon? What a fitting end to the competition. IMO, the marathon truly signifies what the Olympics is all about. The spirit of sportsmanship, the hard work, endurance, and above all, the thrill of participation. After all, winning is not always everything.:)
August 30, 2004 — 10:18 am
Lakshmi says:
Yeah, I did. The men’s, that is. I was rooting for the Brazilian to win. What endurance! But Baldini turned out to be the lambi race ka ghoda, I guess….
August 30, 2004 — 10:27 am
rileen says:
Fitting end? The poor guy who was leading got attacked by a speactator & had to settle for bronze – not a very nice thing to happen, i’d say!
August 30, 2004 — 12:03 pm
Lakshmi says:
Did you see that *spectator* ran all around the car-racing track also?
What a weirdo??!!!!
August 30, 2004 — 3:10 pm
shri says:
Fitting end? The poor guy who was leading got attacked by a speactator & had to settle for bronze – not a very nice thing to happen, i’d say!
Yeah, I agree. But I was not really talking about the lapse in security, the doping scandals, etc;, but more about the way the athletes who keep pushing themselves when it comes to running that marathon. In a way, it is a salute to the Olympic spirit.
August 30, 2004 — 9:55 pm
rileen says:
Hmm, i thought ending with the marathon was traditional rather than anything peculiar to Athens2004 ….. as for it being a salute to the olympic spirit, it really is only if we wish to see it that way; after all people need to push themselves for any marathon 🙂
August 31, 2004 — 4:18 am