Although the Olympic opening ceremony was by far the most watched TV broadcast ever in Canada – more than two-thirds of the country tuning in at some point – the numbers do not prove the success of this ceremony. The opening ceremony in Vancouver was no match for the last opening ceremony of Beijing’s Olympics in 2008.
The ceremony was spectacular, but I thought that each performance was supposed to try to surpass Beijing’s. It was a good show; Canadians must be proud witnessing such an inspiring show. But one unfortunate incident has helped ruin the whole experience: the death of one of the players. The shadow of the tragic death of 21-year-old Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili was haunting everyone’s thoughts while watching the ceremony.
I am not a really big fan of the Winter Olympics; in fact, I am not a big fan of the Summer Olympics either. But I still watch the opening ceremonies because they always have dazzling shows that are beautiful and captivating.
The crash before the ceremony that cost the player his life has been shared all over the world, not just on YouTube and Twitter but also on news channels around the world, prefaced by warnings about the graphic nature of the video, which is really upsetting.
This phenomenon is similar to the disturbing video of the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Why do people enjoy watching other people die? Why do they keep replaying the same video of someone’s death over and over? This is not like watching a movie where someone dies yet we know he is still alive. It is also not “Halo” where it is just characters in the game dying. It is not America’s Funniest Home Video where we watch people just get hurt. Someone died for real.
It is very disrespectful to keep broadcasting the video which is surely bringing pain to his family and friends and to his country. Who is to blame but ourselves for allowing us this to happen?
In our quest to find someone to blame, everyone turned to the Vancouver Winter Olympics organizers and demanded a thorough investigation in the causes of the accident during his luge practice which caused the death of the player. The International Olympic Committee concluded that there was no deficiency in the track that had contributed to the fatal crash.
It is very surprising that a boring event like the luge can be so dangerous. Although the Winter Olympics are not my favorite thing to watch, somebody dying there definitely draws everyone’s attention, including the media’s. But other than that, the Winter Olympics are not that interesting, especially since it is very cold, below freezing cold.
Many Olympic games require judges who score the event according to personal judgment and preferences, which makes the competition just a show with no main rules or regulations which engage the audience more.
I would much rather watch warm-weather sporting events, which evoke more emotions and excitement. Beach soccer and beach volleyball, for example, are sports that are much more entertaining than any winter sport. Ice is only good for making snowmen and having snowball fights.
In the end I am very sorry for Nodar Kumaritashvili and his family and friends. His death is a loss to his country. But like all other safety measures, nobody pays attention until someone gets hurt. At least we know now that the organizers would be much keener about making sure that all safety measures be placed to ensure the safety of everyone in the game. We must not hate the players, or the organizers in this game, but instead hate the game and the lack of better safety procedures.
Abdallah Abu Ghazaleh is a freshman majoring in electrical engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].