Olympic Opening Ceremonies

So, I've known for a while that the opening ceremonies were going to be tonight and I've been really excited about them. Then, I found out that our ward was having a Valentine's Day activity and dance tonight, and I'm now on the committee that has been planning it, so I was pretty sure that I would be going to that instead of watching the opening ceremonies. Well, I haven't been feeling very well today and decided that it would be best if I didn't go to the activity after all. I am so glad that I stayed home.

Watching the ceremonies has been wonderful and has turned out to be a lot more emotional than I was expecting. The most emotional part for me was when the Mounties carried the Canadian flag into BC Place. I was feeling a lot of Canadian pride at the moment, and that was mixed with some strong feelings of missing Canada as well. It was a strong, and interesting, mixture of emotions.

Another emotional part for me was when the Georgian athletes walked in during the Parade of Nations. Earlier today, a Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, died in a crash during a training run. The Georgian team was fairly small, and it was clear as they walked in that they were in mourning for their lost teammate. The welcoming applause and support that the audience gave them was very touching and it was great to see and hear everyone, from a wide variety of countries, rally behind this team.

Aside from all of that, I thought the ceremonies were great. They were beautiful and fun. I was really amazed at the whole presentation. I was in total shock during the beginning of the cultural celebration when the projectors made the floor look like it was breaking up into a bunch of ice flows. It was amazing.

The Olympics are more than just an athletic competition. There's something special about them. There are other international competitions, but none of them have the same feeling.