Athens’ highs and lows, from Michael Phelps to Barry Manilow
ATHENS, Greece — We’ve seen it all during the Olympics, from alpha to omega. And we’ve largely kept our opinions to ourselves. But not anymore.
From the most enthusiastic fans and infectious chants to the worst hairdos and attitudes to the most annoyingly overplayed songs, here’s a look at the best and worst of the 2004 Summer Games:
“BEST CHANT: The roaring Greek cries of “Hellas, Hellas” — as the country is known here — which echoed everywhere but were deafening during the men’s basketball game against the United States.
“WORST BEHAVIOR: Two displays come to mind. The crowd at Olympic Stadium whistling and booing — chanting for disgraced Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris — and delaying the start of the 200-meter final. And the gymnastics fans who booed for 10 minutes because they were unhappy with the high-bar scores the judges gave Russian Alexei Nemov.
“BEST SPORTSMANSHIP: U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, for giving up his spot in the 400-meter medley relay to rival Ian Crocker, which allowed Crocker to redeem himself for a disappointing swim earlier.
“WORST SPORTSMANSHIP: Germany’s Judith Arndt, who won the silver medal in the women’s road race, yet made an obscene gesture toward her nation’s cycling federation officials while crossing the finish line. Arndt said she was upset that they didn’t put her close friend, Petra Rossner, on the Olympic team.
“MISPLACED PRIORITIES: Taekwondo referee Zhao Lei, who still counted out Bertrand Gbongou Liango from the Central African Republic while he was lying unconscious from a roundhouse kick to the head before being hospitalized with a concussion.
“BEST HAIR: Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, whose blond-tipped bed-head still looked fabulous, even with the gold medal-winner’s wreath on top of it.
“WORST HAIR: Australian basketball player C.J. Bruton, whose braided ‘do resembled a cornrow mohawk.
“BEST HORSE NAME: Air Jordan, a German horse in the three-day event, which includes jumping.
“BEST FIREWORKS: The climactic show at the opening ceremony in Olympic Stadium.
“WORST FIREWORKS: Chief Olympic organizer Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki threw a celebration one day later, with a pyrotechnics show that caused a fire in the nearby wooded area, burning out of control for nearly an hour.
“WORST USE OF COSMETICS: The rhythmic gymnasts. We know you’re trying to color coordinate, but seafoam-green eye shadow and silver hair glitter are never, ever a good look.
“BEST FANS: Hard to choose. The mighty, tightly packed Lithuanian basketball fans, dressed in their country’s green, yellow and red, resembled the produce section at a grocery store. The Japanese, in matching samurai garb, were vocal and organized at baseball. And then there was the overweight Brazilian beach volleyball fan in a green-and-yellow wig, tight yellow Superman costume and blue Speedo trunks.
“BEST SONGS AT VENUES: The “Zorba the Greek” theme, which never grew tiresome. “Miserlou” by Dick Dale. “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet. “Music” by Madonna. Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana.”
“WORST SONGS AT VENUES: “La Bamba.” “Love Shack” by the B-52’s. “Who Let the Dogs Out” by the Baha Men. “Tie Me Kangaroo Down.” “Copacabana.”