Faster, Higher, Stronger

Did you see the Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing? We're having our holidays right now, and amidst all the preparation for our move I took some time out and saw it completely.

While being very impressive and grandiose, I was probably not the only one wondering if these ceremonies are moving in the right direction. The Olympic motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) should be reserved for the athletes and the sports they perform, not for extravagant ceremonies.

The part I liked the best is the entry of the athletes. Many people find this the most boring part - not I. I really like to see all those men and women in various outfits walking round the stadium. They have come from the four corners of the world to represent their countries in the greatest sporting event on earth. An idealistic idea, but one that survived for over one hundred years.

Now what has all this to do with New Zealand, you might ask. May I ask for just a little more patience?

Apparently Mandarin does not know an alphabetical ordering of words. That is why the delegations entered the stadium in a seemingly random way (which isn't true: a country's place was determined by the complexity of the first characters of its name). If you don't know Mandarin - I don't either - you had no clue when a particular country would enter the stage.

It was a bit strange to see my compatriots walking in behind Jamaica and before Vanuatu. But when I spotted our flag, I thought: "there they are!" My feelings toward my country in day-to-day life cannot be called patriotic, but seeing this kind of events do heighten them a little.

It was a long wait to see New Zealand entering - they were 189th on a total of 205 countries. But when they did enter I had the same feeling - and I suspect it may even have been a little stronger! Especially when the commentator said that New Zealand had grabbed the gold away from us a few times in the past. He mentioned Ivo Van Damme finishing second after John Walker in the 1500 m in Montreal (1976) and Roger Moens who was beaten by Peter Snell in the 800 m in Rome (1960). The tone of his comments was rather negative towards the New Zealanders, instead of praising them for their victories. Believe it or not, I was somewhat offended and thought "New Zealand has every right to be there too!"

During the current Games we will meet New Zealand again. In the football tournament we play in the same group. I wonder how I will feel about the result of that match... I do hope it won't be a draw.