The London Olympics Are Here!

Nathan Young

12 years ago

Advertisements

I have enjoyed seeing the tweets, Facebook messages, and online videos from the Opening Ceremonies this evening from London. For the next few weeks the entire world will be watching the Olympics from Great Britain and cheering on their country’s team. And I will be watching lots of coverage from the Olympics. But I am going to start of this post by asking this question. Why is NBC not carrying the Opening Ceremonies live?

From the BBC.

Every country in the world was carrying the Opening Ceremonies live. Even Canada and Mexico was carrying it live. But you NBC decided to delay it to prime-time. Many people are on Facebook, Twitter, and Google + from around the world talking about the Opening Ceremonies but NBC decided to delay it. No worries for me because I watched the live feed from the BBC online. The only reason why I can think NBC decided to delay the Opening Ceremonies was so they could pump lots of commercials into the broadcast. I do not want to see Mitt Romney or Barack Obama campaign ads during the Opening Ceremonies as they were in the broadcast. I think NBC is currently stuck in the 1980’s. Sadly many people have already seen the photos and videos online so it is not a surprise. This is the big problem going on in America right now. Money, money, and more money; that is all we care about right now. We know how greedy many people are in this country right now and how far this county has gone down. It’s just a shame!

As I watched the United States of America being introduced in the Opening Ceremonies I see many of the athletes with their cameras and smart-phones out. And now I am seeing the pictures on Twitter. So unless you are not on a computer you have already seen what the Opening Ceremonies is going to be like. Why spoil the surprise NBC. You could have shown it live on one of your cable networks. And I hope someone else outbids you for the Olympic Games rights in the future. I am going to re-watch the Opening Ceremonies later but start an hour late so I can skip the commercials! Now off my soapbox!

We have two local people who have started a blog called 2 Sisters Across the Pond who are planning on blogging their trip at the London Olympics. Lindsey King from Boaz and Lauren Champlin from Dothan will be seeing the tennis from Wimbledon and women’s basketball. Follow their blog at http://2sistersacrossthepond.wordpress.com/. And follow Lindsey King @ldking1 on Twitter.

In Geek Alabama territory we have two people who are in the 2012 London Olympics. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom from Rome, GA is a current student at Jacksonville State University pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is a native of Kenya! She has had a long road to becoming an Olympic athlete and she became a U.S. Citizen in November 2010. She will compete in the women’s 10,000-meter run. Follow her on Twitter at @JanetRuns Read more about Janet Cherobon-Bawcom at: http://www.jaxnews.com/view/full_story/19562800/article-Town—Gown–JSU%E2%80%99s-Cherobon-Bawcom-to-run-for-Olympic-Gold?instance=home_lead_story

Another person in the Olympics is Jonathan Hall. He missed out in the 2008 Olympics but qualified for this Olympics! Jonathan goes to school at Columbus State University and his hometown is Carrollton, GA. Jonathan trains at the Civilian Marksmanship Program range here in Anniston and is competing in international air rifle. Follow him on Twitter @Jondh3188 and read more about Jonathan Hall at: http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/19227249/article-Georgia-rifleman-gets-in-shape-in-Anniston-for-London-Olympics?

From Getty Images.

I also want to give my thoughts on the Opening Ceremonies. The show was definitely British all throughout. I enjoyed the part of starting in the farmlands and moving toward the industrial revolution. I also loved seeing James Bond and someone who looked like Queen Elizabeth jump out of the helicopter!

From Getty Images.

I also enjoyed Mr. Bean and his antics during the Opening Ceremonies. The scene where Mr. Bean and the other guys dressed in white and running down the beach was great!

From CTV Olympics.

But you know this was the part of the Opening Ceremonies that is going to ruffle up some feathers. One of the acts was touting the success of Great Britain’s National Healthcare System.

From NBC Olympics.

And we all know the battle that is going on here in America over Obamacare. Many people have already commented online about this and have said they don’t like how the Opening Ceremonies became “political.” Many commenters also said they got bored and turned the channel during the Ceremonies. My question to the Brits is why did you have to get political? Do you hate America and how they are fighting over healthcare? Or are you trying to make a statement to America saying that socialist heath care that many countries around the world has is great. Why did director Danny Boyle had to include this in the Ceremonies? You know this is going to be talked about here in America and the talk radio folks like Rush Limbaugh can’t wait to talk about this.

I am also going to post an updated medal count each day here on Geek Alabama throughout the Olympics! Here is what it will look like.

And have you seen the mascots of the London Olympics? Wenlock and Mandeville look like some weird version of the Teletubbies. And Jimmy Kimmel had some fun with these mascots that kind of looks like a male reproductive part.