Well played, London

[jimnyc]

The opening ceremonies have always gotten better and better as the ability to deliver more and more special effects has grown. But it's also the athletes parade and the entire stadium of pride. All I know about these games so far is that London didn't let us down and put on a great ceremony! I felt even more proud to be a close ally last night, even if that sounds like a political statement. I felt happy for the entire UK and the athletes. I hope the success continues for all!

I will always think the parade of the athletes being the best part, but the special effects and things that grow every 4 years are certainly fun to watch too. Here's a clip of the Queen entering the stadium with James Bond! I doubt anyone truly believed that was her in the parachute, but was still cool of the Queen to participate.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f28JxHQWleo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[taft2012]

I doubt anyone truly believed that was her in the parachute, but was still cool of the Queen to participate.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f28JxHQWleo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Whattya mean?

BTW: is it even possible to parachute out of a helicopter?

[Mr. P]

Whattya mean?

BTW: is it even possible to parachute out of a helicopter?

Absolutely. :thumb:

[jimnyc]

Whattya mean?

BTW: is it even possible to parachute out of a helicopter?

Huh? What do I mean about what? I thought I was clear, but am happy to expand on what I said if you can be more specific.

But yep, the US Army says you can do it!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0orQ8pemmkI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[taft2012]

Huh? What do I mean about what?

I meant whattya mean no one really believes it was the queen parachuting?

[jimnyc]

I meant whattya mean no one really believes it was the queen parachuting?

Well, IMO, it was obvious. They were flying towards the stadium in daylight, and then a few seconds later it was nighttime over the stadium. They never actually showed either actually jump, and them in the air was a far distant shot. And of course no more footage after that and no footage of a landing. Had the Queen truly done so, there would have been hundreds of cameras on the ground filming the event and thousands in the stands. It was really just a movie clip they played on the big screens, but the untold millions watching it on TV saw it as if it were really happening. They showed to clip, and then switched camera to her arriving at her special box seating.

I think it's even extra awesome for the really young generation perhaps watching the Olympics for the first or maybe second time. They very well believe she did the jump and it would be that much more special of an event for those kids!

[aboutime]

U.S. Navy Seals parachute from copters all the time. What's the big deal?

Why is it there is always someone who has to find something to complain about, whine about, question about, or just be plain stupid in asking?

Seems like...If someone says something is white. Somebody else has to instantly disagree and claim it's black.
Same goes for truth. Whenever someone states a known fact as true. Someone else must always step forward to disagree and call it false.

On the other hand. Why wouldn't people do such things? We see someone who calls himself our President Lie almost daily, and those who support his lies...call them statements of fact. Pretty soon. As we see here. Nobody knows, or is smart enough to determine the differences between Truth and Falsehoods, fact and fiction, Liars, and Presidents.

[hjmick]

Was that Angela Landsbury singing Hey Jude?

[gabosaurus]

I was disappointed that Pink Floyd's inflated pig didn't come flying over the stadium.

And that the organizers had the gumption to throw in a few bars of the Sex Pistols' version of "God Save The Queen" with the Royal Family present. ;)

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7qa9VjuzTJs" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>

[Drummond]

Admit it, Gabby .. the Brits really impressed you ... go on, you know you want to ...

Boris's pre-ceremony hype about it, in the months beforehand, turned out not to be hype after all !

Thanks for the praise about it, by the way. Though of course, what really makes the Games a success is its participants.

[darin]

I just see that as a f'ing waste of money. Millions dying of hunger and how many millions of dollars spent - how much public money?

[jimnyc]

I just see that as a f'ing waste of money. Millions dying of hunger and how many millions of dollars spent - how much public money?

About $2.9 million per medal! It says a total of 232 million was spent by the USA OC in 2008, and increasing for these games!


Team USA will pay a hefty price for its share of the gold, silver and bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but even the medals table has a bargain bin.

The U.S. Olympic Committee shelled out more than $232 million in 2008 to help American athletes win 110 medals in Beijing -- the site of the previous Summer Olympic Games. That's $2.1 million per medal, but doesn't include the cash kicked in by each sport's governing body from sponsors, donors and special events. For example, USA Basketball took a little less than $1 million from the USOC to send the men's and women's teams to China four years ago, but spent $5.8 million overall on gold-medal efforts from LeBron James, Diana Taurasi and company.

That's a lofty $2.9 million per medal, which is nearly five times what the U.S. modern pentathlon and badminton programs spent on their Olympic programs combined in 2008. The birdie smashers and five-sporters left empty handed, but any medal those programs took home would have been the steal of the games.

But the real question remains: How much can be spent on a single medal? The answer: Almost the sky's the limit, it seems. We're talking about many millions per medal.

To give Team USA fans some idea of which Olympic sports get the most -- and least -- medal for their money, we went over the financial statements and tax information of each Summer Olympic sport's governing body to see how much they spent during the 2008 games. We divided that amount by the number of medals earned and came up with America's five most resourceful Summer Olympics squads and its five biggest spenders. Here's a hint: LeBron doesn't appear in either list.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/201207/what-america-spends-win-olympic-gold#1

[gabosaurus]

I just see that as a f'ing waste of money. Millions dying of hunger and how many millions of dollars spent - how much public money?

cur·mudg·eon   [ker-muhj-uhn]

noun a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.




Origin:
1570–80; unexplained; perhaps cur- representing cur (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cur)

Related forms cur·mudg·eon·ly, adjective

Synonyms
grouch, crank, bear, sourpuss, crosspatch.

[darin]

About $2.9 million per medal! It says a total of 232 million was spent by the USA OC in 2008, and increasing for these games!

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/201207/what-america-spends-win-olympic-gold#1


How 'compassionate' eh? :(

[gabosaurus]

A lot of activities waste money. But in the case of the Olympics, there is a noble cause.
The Olympics are the only event in existence where the entire world is invited to share a common cause, regardless of race, creed, religion or monetary worth. It is the Lion laying down with the Lamb, so to speak.
The concept of the Olympic Games asks that everyone lay down their arms and unite in athletic competition.
Of course, if that actually happened, a lot of you would be out of work, so I can see why you don't approve. :rolleyes:

[Dilloduck]

Competition and nationalism are evil.