Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LONDON — Last night the world tuned in in record numbers to watch the London Olympic ceremonies, in fact the most ever for a summer games.
Friday night, 40.7 million people watched the opening ceremony, and NBC's Nielsen ratings for were 7 percent higher for the event than during the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, when the Chinese put on a breathtaking event viewed by 34.9 million people.
The games on Saturday in China showcased another realm of stunning. Though an American was attacked that day in China, that day's games lifted spirits and turned out to be the "feel good gold" of the Beijing Games.
It was an interesting turn then, that those games in 8/08 were the eighth Olympics I had covered. Those games and their strong local connections and BYU ties brought me from one end to the other of the emotional spectrum more than any other.
US athletes, including those with local ties, were suddenly worried not about their placement and scores, but about family members and friends attending the games in China.
