The Olympic opening ceremony on NBC, as grand as it was, was a little, well ... weird (2024)

Sports

NBC’s emphasis on celebrity during these Games backfired.

By Chad Finn

July 27, 2024

The opening ceremony for the Paris Summer Games Friday was weird (what was going on behind that closed door?), inspired (a death-metal band? Sure, why not), and spectacular (Celine Dion, in her first performance in years, closing it down like Keith Foulke in ‘04).

Unfortunately, only one of those three adjectives applied to NBC’s coverage: weird. Mike Tirico — who is undeniably the highest-profile multi-sport play-by-play broadcaster working today — was reliable as ever as the emcee. He could obviously host the “Today” show or programming of that ilk with the same ease that comes across when he’s calling “Sunday Night Football” or myriad other sporting events.

But NBC’s emphasis on celebrity during these Games backfired during the Opening Ceremony. Singer and talk show host Kelly Clarkson spoke in exclamation points and empty platitudes (“Cool! … Wow! … Amazing!”).

Meanwhile, Peyton Manning spoke early on about as often as Bob Uecker’s severely understated color analyst in “Major League’’ before chiming in a little more as the ceremonies proceeded. Manning has tremendous comic timing, but he was miscast here. Maybe he missed Eli.

Of course, the ceremonies, as grand as they are, still remain the opening act to the competition. Here’s what I’m looking forward to watching from a Boston media observer’s perspective among NBCUniversal’s more than 7,000 hours of coverage (including streaming) across its assortment of networks …

3-on-3 basketball: The @FIBA3x3 account on X/Twitter (slogan: #FromTheStreetsToTheOlympics) has long been a fun follow for highlights of this surprisingly fast-paced, rapid-fire style of basketball. Noah Eagle, who called the 3-on-3 basketball in Tokyo, has elevated to the play-by-play voice of the much-anticipated conventional basketball competition, with Krista Blunk and analyst Kyle Montgomery calling the half-court game in Paris. If you’ve been wondering what Team USA’s Jimmer Fredette — the record-setting Brigham Young sharpshooter taken ahead of Klay Thompson in the 2011 NBA Draft, here’s your chance to get reacquainted. Men’s and women’s play begins July 30.

Sean Grande calling boxing: Fresh off calling the second Celtics championship since he became the team’s radio play-by-play voice in 2001-02, Grande will make his Olympic broadcasting debut while providing a reminder that he’s a versatile play-by-play voice who has called a smorgasbord of sports, including Premier Boxing Champions and Top Rank Boxing bouts. Boxing got underway Saturday.

Handball: Does anyone else remember this sport generating some of that unique-to-the-Olympics, “I have no idea what the rules are, but this is cool” buzz way back in the 2012 London games, when Mike Gorman was on the call? I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with it again, with Eric Frede — always a steady pro during his Boston assignments over the years, including as a Red Sox sideline reporter on NESN — handling the play-by-play. The handball competition also started Saturday.

The Gold Zone: This whip-around show, designed to bring you to the most interesting moments across various competitions in real time, mirrors the NFL’s highly successful “Red Zone” so much that it even features not one but its two hosts from its separate incarnations over the years. Scott Hanson, who has hosted the NFL Network’s version of “Red Zone” since 2009, and Andrew Siciliano, who hosted the DirecTV “Sunday Ticket” version through 2023, will serve as Gold Zone anchors. It’s cool to see two people who were very good at the same job now on the same team. The Gold Zone can be found via Peaco*ck.

And because we’re not handing out gold medals for everything here, two things I don’t like:

The presence of Jimmy Fallon: NBC’s decision to become more celebrity-focused pretty much guaranteed that Fallon, host of the “Tonight Show” for the past decade, would have a role in Olympic coverage for the first time. And, sadly, he does. Hollywood’s preeminent insincere laugher — think of how much of a suck-up you have to be to claim that title — will be part of the Closing Ceremony. I’d almost rather watch “Fever Pitch” again than listen to his phony platitudes during the cérémonie de clôture. I said almost.

A.I. Al.: Call me a geezer, call me unrealistic, heck, go ahead and call me Shirley if you want, but I am of the unwavering belief that society began its acceleration to Hades in a handbasket with the invention of smartphones, if not the internet itself. So you can probably guess my stance on A.I., and in this particular instance, NBCUniversal’s decision to use Al Michaels’s A.I.-generated voice to provide “personalized recaps” for fans on Peaco*ck. Ugh. Love hearing Al. Don’t need Fake Al. Dreadful. Just dreadful. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to my bunker and watch his “Do you believe in Miracles? YES!” call another 100 times on YouTube. Fine, on the internet. But not on my smartphone, because that would be extra hypocritical.