| Salt Lake City |
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| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
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24 |
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| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
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2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
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| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
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| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
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8 |
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Crowd wowed by spectacle for most part
By Brady Snyder and Angie Welling
Despite $885 ticket prices, cold weather and promises of hourlong waits to enter Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium, most spectators relished the chance to watch the opening ceremonies for Salt Lake's 2002 Winter Games.
Adjectives like "beautiful," "cool" and "amazing" were on the crowd's frozen lips.
"It's wonderful," Salt Laker Walt Vandenberg said. "It completely exceeds my expectations."
The event, of course, didn't come without some hiccups and complaints.
While spectators breezed through security checkpoints in minutes, many members of the media stood in two-hour-long lines to enter the stadium.
Hundreds of media members already grumpy from the wait were stalled for 15 minutes in an underground tunnel as President Bush entered the stadium. Whistles and boos roared as the already late reporters and photographers became impatient.
"I think they should have been prepared with more magnetometers" for the press, said Scott Cunningham, photographer for USATODAY.com.
The wait made some a little testy and may have tainted their views of the ceremonies' flashy finish, complete with fireworks and a thematic ice dance.
"It's OK. After all the trouble of getting here let's just say I'm hoping for a really big finish," said Siri Markula, a Finnish reporter.
But, by and large, spectators seemed to enjoy the show.
"It's outstanding," said William Houston, Boise, as athletes marched into the stadium. "It's above and beyond anything I could have expected."
Still, there were mixed feelings about whether the show was worth the lofty ticket prices.
"If I had to pay $885, I don't know, I wouldn't pay it," said Dallas Corvell, Murray, who got a free ticket from his aunt who works for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.
But others felt no price tag was too high for the once-in-a-lifetime event.
"We would have paid any price," Houston said of himself and his daughter, Shelly.
The introduction of an American flag recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center collapse was also appreciated by the crowd.
The flag's entrance into the stadium was the center of controversy last week. At first, the International Olympic Committee had said the flag was "too patriotic" for a worldwide event like the opening ceremonies but later, after much public outcry, the governing body said the flag would be allowed.
"Sometimes I wish we could tell the IOC to go away," said Chris Alvarez, who was happy the flag was part of the festivities.
Joey Rainey, a 7-year-old from Syracuse, came just to see the tattered flag. Rainey's teacher at Bluff Ridge Elementary peaked his interested when she talked about the flag in class.
"It was pretty cool," said the shy second-grader, whose mom cried as the flag entered the stadium.
Most spectators said the ceremony should be patriotic and have a heightened American presence. Besides, some said, the whole world was hurt in the World Trade Center attack, not just America.
"It was fabulous. It was something that had to be done," David Hyman said. "It was done in a very professional way, (with) a lot of class and showed the world what we're made of."
The Native American Welcome that showcased Utah's five original nations — Ute, Goshute, Shoshone, Paiute and Navajo-Dine — was also met with mixed reviews.
"I just thought the Native American part was too much" nationalism, Frank Mabante, of Phoenix, said.
Others disagreed, saying the showcase was appropriate.
"I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of Indian culture involvement . . . the Indian culture is kind of predominant here in Utah and throughout the United States, and we don't always provide them that kind of recognition," Rudy Brooks, of California, said.
Most spectators began filing out of the stadium following the lighting of the caldron by the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team, missing LeAnn Rimes' performance of the Games' theme, "Light the Fire Within."
E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com; awelling@desnews.com
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February 9, 2002
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