The 2012 Summer Olympics begin today. I really enjoy the Olympics and plan on watching as much coverage as I can over the next few weeks. Tonight the Olympics kick off with the opening ceremonies. Even though they’re weird and unintelligible, I always watch the opening ceremonies. I love the pageantry, the music and how it resembles a Cirque du Soleil show.
The opening ceremonies could stand to be a little nerdier, though. Here are some suggestions on how to do just that.
Nerdy Music
The theme song for this year’s Olympics is “Survival” by Muse. I love Muse; they’re one of my favorite bands. I also like the song “Survival”; it’s definitely a throwback to Queen, another of my favorite bands. I’m sure the song will be played at the opening ceremonies but it’s not very nerdy. And I’m sure that a lot of the other songs that play while people are dancing and running around in Saxon helmets won’t be that nerdy either. The Lord of the Rings soundtrack is the most epic soundtrack ever; it should just be played at all times. I’d love to see children running around the stadium while the Uruk-hai music plays in the background.
Sci-Fi Element
The opening ceremonies always tell some sort of story. I imagine the ceremonies tonight will say something about how the United Kingdom was united in the first place. I’d love to see something about the U.K.’s amazing defiance of Hitler and the Nazis. But I would also love to see some sort of sci-fi element in every opening ceremony. Little kids could dress like stars and streak across the stadium, like starlines through the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Or a balloon rocket could be pulled through the sky, passing balloon planets and balloon UFOs. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense but nothing in the opening ceremonies ever does.
Nerdy Narrator
This seems more likely to happen than anything else. If they’ll let Patrick Stewart carry the Olympic torch, then they should let him narrate the ceremonies. So many nerdy actors have voices that would lend themselves well to narrating the opening ceremonies. William Shatner could narrate them using pauses and changes in inflection. Edward James Olmos could channel Admiral Adama and give a rousing narration with his gruff, seasoned voice. Or Chewbacca could just narrate the whole thing and make them infinitely more entertaining.
I like the Olympics for all of the pageantry and competition. I also get patriotic and want to see the United States win as many medals as we can. The Olympics are also a great representation of Isaiah 2:4, which speaks about nations beating their swords into plowshares. We’ll never fully experience peace until Christ’s return but, for two weeks every four years, we can get a small glimpse of what it will look like when every tribe, tongue and nation comes together to glorify God.
How would you make the opening ceremonies nerdier?
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