Opening day jitters: the Fisht flake seen around the world (except Russia)

Snowflakes suspended from the ceiling of Fisht Olympic Stadium were supposed to join, then morph into the five Olympic rings and ignite fireworks during the Feb. 7 opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics. It was the mandatory showing of the rings part of the opening ceremony script and it didn't work out. There ended up being four rings and a snowflake.

In Vancouver, it was the first spectacular thing that happened on Feb. 12, 2010, when snowboarder Johnny Lyall flawlessly jumped through the rings and landed in the east end zone of B.C. Place Stadium to begin the 2010 Games opening ceremony.

While viewers around the world saw the hiccup by the Black Sea, Russian broadcaster Rossiya 1 switched to footage from the rehearsal. Some deft Olympic trickery. The coverup was worse than the mistake. 

The snowflake that stuck bore an uncanny resemblance to the BP logo. Ironically, after the oil company's Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, CEO Tony "I'd Rather Be Yachting" Hayward was transferred to the company's Russian joint venture TNK-BP. 

BP, by the way, sponsored the London 2012 Olympics and is a backer of the U.S. Olympic Committee. 

The ring malfunction drew instant comparisons to Vancouver, where all but one of the arms on the indoor cauldron emerged from beneath the false floor for the climax of the ceremony. Speedskater Catriona LeMay Doan was left standing while hockey's Wayne Gretzky, basketball's Steve Nash and skiing's Nancy Greene Raine stepped forward and did their duty to light the burner.  

It could have been far worse than embarrassing. Had the company that provided the cauldron not pondered problems ahead of time, it could have turned into a deadly, fiery mess. There had been no fire drill at B.C. Place for the two years preceding the Games. 

In Vancouver, athletes from India, the world's second most-populous nation, paraded in borrowed clothes. At Sochi, they came in under the International Olympic Committee flag. 

The IOC suspended the India Olympic Association because of governance problems stemming from corruption at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.  Delhi handed the baton to Sochi, where the Games are costing $51 billion and that big price tag is unofficially blamed on corruption. (Sochi officials told me in June 2010 during my visit to the ice cluster construction site that the bill would be $20 billion. Oops!) 

How about that cauldron, lit by Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Vladislav Tretiak and figure skater Irina Rodina? It reminded me of the shape of the Montreal Olympic Stadium's tower. Once upon a time, the 1976 Summer Olympics were the poster child for a big event boondoggle. Montreal's Mayor Jean Drapeau gave a great "legacy" quote after the IOC chose his city: "The Montreal Olympics can no more have a deficit, than a man can have a baby."

And finally... Ideas for a nickname of the Sochi Olympic Stadium/cauldron combo, anyone? 

I propose "Fisht and Chip."

News and sports journalist Bob Mackin is author of the e-book, Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics, the only independent chronicle of how the 2010 Winter Olympics came and went. Available for 21% off via Smashwords through Feb. 23 (enter code CR34F). 

In the media? Click here to contact Bob for an interview.  

Now available on iTunes

I'm proud to say that Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics is now available on Apple's iTunes. Why so proud? The e-book was written on an Apple MacBook Pro, the same one I used for those magic and controversial 17 days in February 2010. Click here for the link. The price is the same: $8.99.

Spreading the word

Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics by Bob Mackin has scored wider distribution. The e-book about how the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics came and went is now available from the Sony Reader Store, Kobo, Diesel and Barnes & Noble. Or you can go direct to Smashwords. Wherever you buy it, the price is still just $8.99.

The story of how the 2010 Olympics came and went

A decade of political debate, protests and fevered anticipation. Two years of economic upheaval. Seventeen days of Olympic glitches and glory. The price? More than $6 billion. This is the story of how the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, came and went.

Canadians celebrated coast-to-coast-to-coast the record 14 gold medals won by their Olympians in Vancouver, Richmond, West Vancouver and Whistler. The politicians and sponsors who staged the event were quick to declare it a grand success. But was it?

Governments involved in the Games of the Great Recession were never forthcoming with all the costs, but were constantly selling the benefits. Vancouver, constantly striving to be “world class,” got new transportation, convention and recreation facilities. The massive spending diversion put a strain on hospitals, schools and courts.

The athletes of 82 nations who competed at the biggest, most expensive Winter Olympics in history didn’t all return home. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died on opening day in a crash at the extreme Whistler Sliding Centre, sparking questions about whether Games officials really did all they could to ensure safety.

It was the most dynamic period in British Columbia history and the Olympics were at the foreground or background of every major government decision. The scandal, the controversy, the tragedy and the comedy. Broken promises, false expectations and Canada's greatest party.

This is a cautionary tale of what happens when a boom goes bust while preparing to welcome the world. All seen through the expert observations of a journalist who was along for the bumpy ride.

This is more than a story of the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. It is about fear and greed, unity and division, celebration and anguish, life and death.

It is red mittens and red ink.

Available NOW as an e-book from Smashwords.com for $8.99. Click here.

Download the free Adobe Digital Editions e-book reader software. Click here!

Secrets of the Games revealed

Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics was featured on Global TV's B.C. newscast on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Watch Marisa Thomas's report here.