News & Observer | newsobserver.com | 2008 NCAA Men's Bracket

BEIJING - Wrong information in a previous post. NBC actually was holding the opening ceremonies to broadcast primetime in the United States.

That means you have about 10 minutes before they begin. My favorite part was the native music that accompanied each nation.

Except, they were repeating the same five tunes. So it was like Mexican mariachi music for the Netherlands or Scottish bagpipes for Zambia. Cheeky. Fun.

Also, keep an eye on the American-style cheerleaders in their Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders boots ringing the stadium during the parade of nations. Those girls do the step-touch-clap for about two hours straight!

By the way, I had to skip the ceremonies due to previously discussed injury. But on my way back to the hotel, right at the start of the ceremonies, my taxi driver tried to get on the expressway near the Bird's Next but could not.

He had to backtrack off the on-ramp because he was blocked by two police vehicles who were holding back, and I kid you not, what looked like a thousand people who were standing on the ramp to watch the fireworks and all of the venues in that area being lit up in glorious color. And I mean glorious like Vegas times 10. Very cool.

Taking surface streets for a portion of the ride back to the hotel, we also passed a ton of people who had just stopped in their cars or on their bikes or walking and turned towards the stadium area to watch the spectacle.

Others were waving Chinese or Olympic flags and taking pictures of each other in the middle of the excitement. I missed being inside the stadium but seeing all of that helped me know how important this event is to the Chinese and how invested so many of them seem to be.