Closing Ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympics!

Much like the opening cermonies in London, the closing cermonies have been shown on tape delay here in the U.S.A..  So while our Londener friends and others around the world tuck into their beds after hours of parting I sit here watching the wrap up of the 2012 London Olympics.   And I must say, that if there were ONE event I could have attended at these Olympics, it would have been the closing cermony.  The musical performances aside would have been enough for me to want to be there, add in the pagentry and the humor and the all around party atmosphere and this is one jealous American. >.<    

Musically I only regret that John Lennon and Freddie Mercury could not be alive to be a part of the amazing performances, even though they were in fact a very big part of the nights celebrations. Is it weird that the performance that seemed to resonate most with me was the Spice Girl's performance?  Sure I was never really a big Spice Girls fan but I loved the energy that they brought to the stage and their music brought back memories of the time when I was moving from a teenager to an adult.

Maybe I missed him but the only British music legend that has been conspicuously absent or at the very least incognito among the other performers is Elton John  maybe to a lesser degree Phil Collins (but if you use the Kevin Bacon game of musical performers with the guy from Mike and the Mechanics, then a band member from said band puts you only one band removed from Genesis and thus Phil Collins.  Of course their music may not have entirely fit with the them of the night, but certainly some Crocodile Rock could have been snuck in somewhere, right? We've heard from the Beatles, TheWho, Queen, Pink Floyd, Annie Lennox and David Bowie among a few of the newer British music stars and some seemingly random one or two hit wonders from the 1980s.  Of course I would have loved to hear something from XTC my favorite band of all time, but from what I understand they had something of an underground following world wide even though they were more popular in England.  Even so, the do not carry the same cache as a number of the chosen performers, and in chats with some younger friends I have on line from England, they pretty much have no idea who XTC was. Sadness!    =(    Mayor of Simpleton anyone?  Making Plans for Nigel?  Dear God? The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, Easter Theatre, The She Appeared,  come on... surely someone out there remembers?  oh never mind. >.<

I really loved the "Bright Side of Life" performance by Eric Idle. Again I was transported to my childhood sitting in the living room with my older brother and sister as they exchanged lines from Monte Python's Flying Circus.  At the time, lots of Monte Python's humor was over the head of a 10 year old boy, but at the same time they had a comedic element that could make me laugh even back then.  I mean who doesn't love a silly walk?  Even a young boy can appreciate that. 

I thought that the handoff for lack of a better term to Brazil was nicely done. It really made me excited for the Winter Olympics in Russia and then the next summer games in Brazil, even though they might seem quite far off at this point.  One thing I learned that I had not known was that an Australian boy in 1956 recommended that the athletes come in together during the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and not seperated by country.  I think that that was a wonderful bit of trivia and an even more wonderful idea that reminds us how important it is to listen to the future generations.  Yeah, believe it or not, they can come up with some pretty good ideas!

I truly loved watching these closing ceremonies. If I am ever fortunate enough to make it to a country to watch an Olympic games I would so love to attend the closing ceremonies.  Bravo London and England and all of Great Britain.  You did a truly wonderful job with these Olympics.  Security was never an issue it seemed which is an achievement in today's world where nut jobs are looking to grab the world's attention.

YAY USA!  Good job doing so well and congratulations on winning the most medals and the most Gold medals. Congratulations too, to all medalists and all competitors.  It truly is remarkable to make it amongst the world's elite and I hope that the athletes had some time to enjoy themselves in London and not simply compete.  For many this will be a once in a lifetime experience.  Now Carlyn and I have to try and plan to make it to some Olympics some day so we can give our impressions in person, and in real time.

I hope that everyone was able to take at least a fraction of the time to enjoy the Olympics that I took.  I was an Olympic bum for the last 2 weeks.  Time to get off the couch and on the bike now.  Who knows, maybe I'll be the next Bradley Wiggins?  Yes... I'm 36, but a late bloomer makes for a good story.  Wish me luck!