The Pan Am Games-Is anybody in the world watching?

Golo100 · #1 08-03-2003, 04:03 PM

These Pan Am Games are following the same pattern of all the others....nobody is watching. If I recall anything in any game is perhaps the incident at the Mexico games where the "Black Power" sign by U.S. black track and field athletes raised their hands in a rebellious manner. Other than that, can anyone remember anything about any Pan Am game?

The 2003 version of the opening ceremonies in Santo Domingo was a lavish version of "how to spend money on a losing business". With almost 10,000 performers overwhelming the small attendance of 18,000(most of them freebies and government employees) this will go into history as the biggest bang for an unknown event. The world press was just as unimpressed. CNN Sports had news about the games in their hidden version called "other sports". This event did not even qualify for a one-liner in their opening page. Tyson*s bankruptcy was bigger news. In Miami, for example, the news about Hippo vs. the Devil was bigger news. So was the "Alternative Games" by Father Rogelio which had an opening ceremony with tear gas and gun-shooting. Our own TV networks ignored the games. Only official channels carried the opening and if it were not for the Baninter scandal, which gave the government access to channel 27 and 13, this would have been the worst covered games of all time. Channel 13 and 27 only carried the visual and music without commentaries. They had no paid staff to help.

The cost of this waste of taxpayer money will exceed US$300 million and thanks to Hippo I will get paid $50,000 pesos a month in interest payments for the next six months for the money he borrowed from about 1000 people like me to invest in these games. I am not kidding. The games will end on August 17 and only a week later, Hippo will have to pay an average of 32% interest to Banco Central certificate owners who lent him the money. As happy as we may be for reaping big benefits from this waste of money, I personally would have preferred making money some other way. But I am no fool. If Hippo is helping our regular banks disappear with his megalomania, we have no choice but to go Central Bank. Now Banco Mercantil has joined Baninter and Bancredito as the best banks to help bank presidents buy their own yacht and airplane fleet(throw in a Ferrari or two)

At the opening, Puello and Vasquez Raña ordered nearly 2000 ticket holders to move from their cheaper seats to a concentrated area to show a packed attendance. But our TV cameramen did not get the message and they constantly showed the entire empty section of the arena. Hippo was booed despite an appeal by Puello not to boo anybody. Hippo had to cut his speech short to avoid a resounding boo. Security was inefficient to say the least, because it relied on massive numbers of military forces with repressive attitude, not on technology or finesse.

Even the choreography was a disaster, considering the amount of money and people thrown. The flag choreography ended up in a disorderly rendition of our flag. The colors were all over the place. The dancers were lost. The white fabric showing the flag was totally unprofessional. The red and blue players could not line up straight anywhere and created some weird patterns that could hardly be understood. The Virgin Mary was no winner either. Singers Sergio Vargas, Millie and Eddy Herrera wore mismatched clothes that look terribly awkward with those embroidered giant umbrellas. The merengue dancers were not the best. They should have reduced the number of dancers and concentrate on professional groups.

About the best part was the lighting of the flame with that home run swing by a youth and Pedro Martinez saving the opening with his flag bearing at the end. It was scary seeing our world champion runner Felix Sanchez running and jumping around with the flag risking injury and ending the games for us right there. He is our greatest hope for an individual gold medal.

Except for the Cubans, the rest of the countries can go home. This is a Cuban show all the way. The Americans will win with sheer numbers. But their quality people stayed home. The men basketball team is a bunch of nobodies. Brasil and Argentina rely mostly on teams sports that Americans have neglected these games. All in all, there is only one charismatic figure, other than a Cuban or Cubans in these games...Felix Sanchez. If he loses by sheer misfortune, the games are over. At the basketball opening there were hardly 10% of the seats taken. Thanks to their packing all the games into one ticket and leaving the game with the Dominicans for last, they showed a higher attendance at the end. If they had ticketed games individually no one, but the cameramen would have witnessed the game between the USA and Argentina, the two basketball powers, besides Cuba. Freebies were the order of the day and more holidays and government employee furloughs will be necessary to fill seats.

Actually, the games were over before they started. What is not over is how we are going to pay for them.

TW

DCfred · #2 08-03-2003, 04:38 PM

I have not seen anything in the US media, not even a passing word about it. Even in Telemundo & Univision not much there, either.

Jasper · #3 08-03-2003, 06:12 PM

Radio Canada had a two-hour show on Panam games yesterday on TV (in French). CBC showed 1 hour of opening ceromonies. I was quiet impressed with most of the show. Even proud at times. Alot of it was the announcers scratching their heads as to how a country where people make $40/week on average can afford such an extravagance. Most was very positive though. It's over and done with so one must be positive. Just wish someone here could have sold Hippo the Big Owe (Olympic Stadium) here in Mtl. Just hope they pay it off faster than our disaster (+25 yrs). Could have been worse....a total embarrassment with the games being pulled at the last minute due to incomplete facilities but still having to foot the bill. Like alot of things, the real return likely won't show for years, but if the people that go have a good time, that does wonders for tourism. Hopefully it will be a coming of age for the country. Even if too many people aren't watching, most locals there will not be aware of this anyway. It's all in the spin of the tale.

Dominican Babe · #4 08-03-2003, 06:40 PM

I know it's Pan Am, but even so, haven't even heard the merest whisper over here in UK.

Hillbilly · #5 08-03-2003, 08:47 PM

That was Mexico City Olympics, not the Pan Am Games.

As for the Opening I was shocked at the disorder, even more astonished that they would put the Virgen de la Altagracia in public display!. These are games for goodness sakes not some stupid bible thumping campaign for money to save souls!!
How that faux-pas(sp?) could get by the organizers is beyond me!....

As for the poor athletes, at least they will get 15 days of good food and some of them will eat well for three weeks-notice that they were the first int he Village??

30-6 was it in field hockey? Poor guys.

Only bright spot for me was the torch lighting, since the very first runner-Donato Vásquez- is one of my "kids" and his sister is one of my "foster" kids...lived with us for 7 years or so...He was a champion runner in the 70s...Pedro and Juan were great and the touch with the kid was very good. Sort of like the opening in Barcelona...

Later..

HB

ERICKXSON · #6 08-03-2003, 09:26 PM

YOU GUYS SOUND LIKE A BAD MOVIE REVIEW, THE FREAKING CEREMONY WAS AMAZING CONSIDERING THE CIRCUNSTANCES, NO OTHER COUNTRY IN LATIN AMERICA COULD OF DONE A BETTER JOB, THE DOMINICAN ECONOMY IS NOT in IT'S BEST SHAPE, 2 YEARS DELAY DUE TO VENEZUELA'S POLITICAL WAR DIDN'T HELP MUCH EITHER BUT IDITOS LOVE TO CRITICIZE WITHOUT THE SLIGHTLESS IDEA OF how this came about.

kjdrga · #7 08-03-2003, 10:41 PM

The open ceremony got about a minute coverage here in the DC area but that's it. Haven't heard a thing about them since, and the CBC website has a forum of upset fans who are complaining that there will only be 1/2 coverage in Canada...

Guess you'd have to be there to enjoy it....

Keith R · #8 08-03-2003, 10:46 PM

Hey Eric, stop shouting.

Robert · #9 08-03-2003, 11:19 PM

ERICKXSON...

But I read the news everyday for the past 5 years? Damn, I must be one of those idiots your talking about. Then again, some peoples post's are easy to criticize.

When a crowd boo's on cue and the organizer of the games (Puello) has to ask the crowd to show some respect to Vasquez Raña (Pan Am boss) it makes you wonder?

The stadium for the opening DR baseball game was half empty and now I'm told all the tickets to all the football games are sold out. What's up with that?

I could go on and on, but it's not my place, I'm just an idiot.

But not all is lost.

At least I can find the "caps lock"...

goatfarmnga · #10 08-03-2003, 11:20 PM

Never even heard of it hear in Ga on the news/sports. Only on DR1 did I hear of any speak of the Pan Am games..Guess you'd have to be an athlete to follow it!

PAm