Betsy McCagg offers her experiences of the opening ceremony at the three Olympic games she participated in. To her, the most interesting part of the ceremony at Barcelona was when the line of women athletes was stopped so the 'dream team' could take a special place at the front of the procession. She felt that the Olympics were becoming more about specific athletes and their individual competitions, even in the opening ceremonies, than the "sea of humanity " on the field. She jokes that living in Seattle her parents watched Canadian coverage of the games, which tended to show everyone and not just the famous athletes. In reaction to the celebrity culture of the games in Atlanta, she remembers the Sydney games as much better, almost like a "home town affair " where all the athletes gelled together.
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