Welcome: Let the Real Games Begin
Ready, folks, for two weeks of non-stop gymnastics and kayaking and judo and "Go for the Gold!" exhortations from McDonald's and Visa? I sure am.
Now that we've gotten past the Opening Ceremonies (see Tom Shales' review), the world is ready, too. Me, I've always been an Olympics geek. Let's just say it: the Summer Games are the greatest sporting event on the planet (and don't start with that business about the World Cup). NBC, and its many siblings and cousins, is going to shove 3,600 hours of spectacle through its pipes, and we're going to watch ... well, a lot of it.
TV has been covering the Olympics since 1936 -- yep, there were early TV cameras on the scene in Nazi Germany -- and you have to figure Beijing '08 will have the biggest, broadest and prettiest coverage yet (NBC paid $900 $900 million to the IOC for this circus, so I guess it had better be). So, for two weeks, we'll watch, we'll react, we'll praise, we'll complain. You can, too: Just bring your rants and ruminations 'round here.
I'll concentrate on NBC's primetime feed in this blog. That means I'll be seeing the "traditional" Olympic sports: track, swimming, gymnastics and diving ("traditional," of course, really means "most likely to draw non-sports fans, which makes Coca-Cola and Samsung happy). But everything will be fair game: cable and online coverage, the announcers, the production values, the technology, the commercials.
Okay, training's over. Time to step into the blocks. Bring on the whole glorious, up-close-and-personal, flag-waving mess. I'll be wallowing.
By
Paul Farhi
|
August 9, 2008; 10:20 AM ET
Previous: The Games On TV |
Next: Day One: Al Trautwig, "Mr. Overdramatic"
Posted by: irishtrader | August 9, 2008 3:52 PM
Somehow I'm thinking NBC probably paid a bit more than "$900" for the Olympics. I know China has a reputation for producing inexpensive merchandise, but come on!
Posted by: J-Man | August 9, 2008 7:06 PM
DUE TO BAD WEATHER I WAS NOT ABLE TO SEE
ALL THE OPENING,POWER OUT AND CABLE OUT\
HOW CAN I GET THE OPENING
THANKS
Posted by: LAZAC | August 9, 2008 11:18 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Welcome Paul. I always thought you should have a blog. So far I'm really liking the coverage. The indoor volleyball game between Poland and Cuba has just been fascinating. I can't keep my eyes off the game.