China To World: "We're Here!"

Okay, so I am late on this, but so what. If you want somebody to truly cover the Olympics from an expressive point of view, then that person should have a lot of difficulty tearing themselves away from the Olympic Games just to write a column.

Well, I’m that person. Because while I wanted to heavily discuss the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Saturday morning, I was too busy actually watching the Olympics!

That said, it was a beautiful display of artistry. And look, I am one of those manly men, who loves sports, and scoffs at the fact that a portrait of 6 different colored stripes can be hung in the Guggenheim, but what the Chinese accomplished on August 8, 2008 will go down in infamy. It was that good.

There were people walking on building-size balls, bands the size minor league baseball audiences marching in unison, and the fireworks had to be the most expensive display in the history of pyrotechnics.

It took three years to put that together, and they had to use a filmmaker to do it! There were over 15,000 people involved in the performance, and many of the things they executed that Friday night, had never been done perfectly throughout their practice sessions. Making the fact that all of it came together on that night, one of the most magical moments in Olympic history.

The opening ceremony was such a success that several London officials (where the 2012 Olympics will be) have already conceited the fact that they won’t match that when the games come to England. As for 2016, where Chicago appears to be the favorite, the Americans sure have a lot of work to do if they want to top a performance like that.

But it’s unlikely that even the U.S. can top that. No one can top that. A country of China’s population, money, and most importantly, its history entrenched in culture, can’t really be matched by any other nation. Which is why bringing the Olympics to Beijing was touted as such a big deal in the first place.

The opening ceremony was a big deal, too. Because that wasn’t just an opening ceremony for just another start to the Olympics. That was a message to the world. One that reads: China is not just a sports power, or emerging industrial power, or even just an economic power. No, on that night, China told the world that they are a superpower. One to be viewed on the same plane as the United States and all of Western Europe.

Message received, China. Message received.

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