# Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremonies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763 "2014-02-07T16:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/41 "2014-02-08T03:38:01Z")
Did I hear part of the Trololo song about 10:30 EST? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/42 "2014-02-08T03:41:13Z")
Tretiak! Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/43 "2014-02-08T03:42:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > There was something similar at the Vancouver opening ceremony, but I can’t recall exactly what it was. Something on the floor not opening? I think it was a [hydraulic malfunction.](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xBF6pnyBTSI/S4DarbLNLvI/AAAAAAAAAE4/31oAFE6unMU/s320/opening-ceremony-glitch-14949094__MBQF-,templateId%3DrenderScaled,property%3DBild,height%3D349.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/44 "2014-02-08T03:42:09Z")
So, who’s the hottie sitting next to Putin? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/45 "2014-02-08T03:48:38Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > So, who’s the hottie sitting next to Putin? [This hottie](http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/19720/SAWH980725306670.jpeg)? A former Olympian in Rhythmic Gymnastics. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/46 "2014-02-08T03:51:50Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > [This hottie](http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/19720/SAWH980725306670.jpeg)? > > A former Olympian in Rhythmic Gymnastics. Bow chicka bow bow… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/47 "2014-02-08T03:52:50Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I think it was a [hydraulic malfunction.](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xBF6pnyBTSI/S4DarbLNLvI/AAAAAAAAAE4/31oAFE6unMU/s320/opening-ceremony-glitch-14949094__MBQF-,templateId%3DrenderScaled,property%3DBild,height%3D349.jpg) That’s it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/48 "2014-02-08T06:50:11Z")
NBC really, really, really needs to lose the Olympics. It’s tape delayed - there’s no reason, whatsoever, to pretend that they can’t show us stuff because it supposedly happened during the commercial break. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/49 "2014-02-08T06:57:16Z")
An utterly fantastic opening ceremony! That projection on the floor was simply fantastic and the music was a million times better than London’s ceremony. Great stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/50 "2014-02-08T07:58:51Z")
Unless my ears were clogged with stupid, I’m pretty sure Matt Lauer dispelled the myth that curling was invented in Great Britain by pointing out that it was _actually_ invented in Scotland. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/51 "2014-02-08T08:09:15Z")
All in all a good show. Some sections were a bit slow, and they certainly didn’t exactly inject a lot of humor, but I guess that was to be expected. Loved the floor - that was great technology! The actual lighting of the torch was strange - suddenly two people running out to the parking lot, almost tripping over a real speed bump, waving to (non-existent?) people. For a minute, I though they were going to run back to Athens. Some of the Olympic clothing was bizarre - New Zealand had those white parts at the bottom of their jackets that looked like they were wearing barrels. I know there is a lot of hate for the German outfits, and despite the “official denial”, I believe it was common knowledge in Germany that these outfits “might” just resemble the Gay Flag…and too fuckin’ bad if they do. Sort of fun to see countries with one or two athletes - but also odd to hear many of the “solo” athletes from those countries were actually not really residents of those countries, but either had a parent from that country or were invited or in one case, were Americans who simply decided to represent another country. I guess that is one way to get involved. Maybe next time I will sign up for the Winter Olympic team from Belize…do they have “making snow angels” as an event? Or writing your name in pee on snow? I could do really well in those events! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/52 "2014-02-08T16:07:58Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Did the slide show have Tchaikovsky, or any other famed Russian who was… y’know…? I don’t remember the slide show, but they certainly used his music. I’m wondering whether the person responsible for it is being imprisoned. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/53 "2014-02-08T16:34:26Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > NBC really, really, really needs to lose the Olympics. > > It’s tape delayed - there’s no reason, whatsoever, to pretend that they can’t show us stuff because it supposedly happened during the commercial break. I don’t think they did…? The one time they came back and told us we missed a whole century, that was a joke. The program actually moved ahead a century. I really liked the ceremony. Thought the ballet went on too long but, eh - Russia. The little girl was great, the crazy colorful part was amazing, and Peter the Great on the ship was crazy amazing. Also the moving map. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/54 "2014-02-08T18:47:42Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Did the slide show have Tchaikovsky, or any other famed Russian who was… y’know…? I’m pretty sure the slide show did have Tchaikovsky as one of the slides. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/55 "2014-02-08T22:52:28Z")
Tchaikovsky(\*) and the nutcracker doll were pictured in the Cyrillic Alphabet slide-show, I believe under “yot” (Й) – I could not catch what was it that was the word using that letter that got associated with them; I noticed they were not always first initials involved and in some cases the displayed element was indirectly linked . During the display I was able to catch “Baikal”, “Gagarin” and “Sputnik” before they showed the letter involved only because they were so bloody obvious. As of this post there is no officially posted version of the video, only YouTube tv-screen captures. (\*And why would they not show him? He’s very safely dead, and it’s not like he wrote the Baby I Was Born This Way ballet, they can just loudly proclaim it’s all rumors 😉 ) (\*\*And BTW, to many of us westerners having a little girl onscreen during the entry for “Nabokov”, as they did, would have been more of a “huh?” moment) > [@DMark](#): > > Sort of fun to see countries with one or two athletes - but also odd to hear many of the “solo” athletes from those countries were actually not really residents of those countries, but either had a parent from that country or were invited or in one case, were Americans who simply decided to represent another country. I guess that is one way to get involved. There’s generally a requirement that there be some sort of “connection” to the country in question, but the country’s relevant sport federation (or National Olympic Committee) can come up with its own definition and enforcement of that connection. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/56 "2014-02-10T15:51:10Z")
These opening ceremonies blew me away like no other opening ceremonies have. To tell the truth, I don’t normally pay too much attention. I do remember China was cool too. Anyway, the Russian civil war/industrial revolution number was awesome to me. They captured the industrialization, the art and the conflict of the times, with icons of the day - the tractor, the train and the peasantry - in a way that I thought was incredible. I’ve watched that one 4 times and I’ll watch it again before I delete it from my DVR. Maybe it’s just me but I thought that one show was outstanding in a ceremony with many very good parts. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/57 "2014-02-10T15:58:58Z")
I thought the opening show was very strong as well. But nothing quite matches the spectacle of the Beijing opener. That was simply jawdropping. Loved the ballet sections, especially. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/58 "2014-02-10T17:15:36Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Tchaikovsky(\*) and the nutcracker doll were pictured in the Cyrillic Alphabet slide-show, I believe under “yot” (Й) – I could not catch what was it that was the word using that letter that got associated with them; The letter “и краткое” / “ee kratkoye” is also known as the “short i”. It’s the last letter of Tchaikovsky’s name: Чайко́вский. He wrote the score to the Nutcracker Ballet, thus the doll. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > As of this post there is no officially posted version of the video, only YouTube tv-screen captures. As of this post, [Gawker](http://gawker.com/heres-the-psychedelic-intro-to-the-olympic-opening-cere-1518251858) still has the opening ceremony linked. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/59 "2014-02-10T17:23:07Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I’m pretty sure the slide show did have Tchaikovsky as one of the slides. There was also Sergey Eisenstein, some of whose films have strong homoerotic overtones and large numbers of heaving, glistening sailor bodies. His wiki says that he was married to some lady for over a decade, though, and does not say that he was, well, you know … ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763/60 "2014-02-20T19:20:49Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Let me know when Pussy Riot is set to play. 😉 It seems they got to play with Cossack security officials–they were beaten and hospitalized. Here is the video: > **[Video shows Pussy Riot members beaten by Cossacks | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2014/02/19/world/russia-sochi-pussy-riot/)** > > Members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot say they were beaten by security officials in Sochi as they tried to film a music video. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sochi-olympics-opening-ceremonies/680763.md?page=2)