Everything is political. We might not like it, but we don't get a choice. Sports has long since been pulled into that stew, and that goes for Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
Hitler's 1936 Games exuded menace. Out at the other end we had Sydney's cheerfully exuberance assertiveness passing our way.
We
glowed the sense of natural justice at the games going home to Greece, and loved the Games reckoned to have rescued the modern era, 1984's drop by at Show Business Central, Los Angeles.
In different ways these were all political, in showing what will happen, what's happening now, and what should have happened a long time ago, Berlin, Sydney, and Athens respectively.
Last night had its political point. It was the obvious one, of China's having the skill, talent, resources, and ability to better the world's best.
With that out of the way it was show time.
There was a lot of show.
Being one of the 91,000 in the stadium would have been life changing. For the rest of us the sprint through Chinese history threatened to explode the sides of the television set.
I kept thinking 'they can't top that'. But, they could, and they did.
One memory living on is the fast changing colours, the pinks, reds, ochre, and the soft blues, painted by light. In between came the hard greys of the printing press!
The images snapped past. The silk boats' oars tapped the sea's lurking danger, and the dove made from hundreds of people looked as if it actually flew.
On came the hundreds of martial arts experts, fizzing, swinging, and dangerous. They were swept aside by the little girl's chuckling grin as she perched at the white grand piano. Then, the closing fireworks made it look as if a whole city was hurling them into the sky.
Television's nature is to confine and focus, sometimes struggling to make sense of the grand events.
Backed by a restrained and sensible commentary team it didn't try. It couldn't. Nothing could. That's the point. The organisers sprang $300million on the ceremony to make sure it couldn't.
That was China dropping off its calling card.
It reads a simple 'We're here'
If nothing else the future of grand-scale partying is in safe hands.
