McNulty: Turin awakens to it's Games

TURIN, Italy — As the flash of fireworks raced through the cold, dark night, then climbed the pretzel-like tower to ignite the Olympic flame that will burn above the 20th Winter Games for the next 16 days, the spectacle of the Opening Ceremonies became truly spectacular.

There was energy.

And passion.

And speed.

And style.

Together, they comprised the theme of this unforgettable Friday night at the Olympic Stadium, where Yoko Ono spoke of peace and hope, where Peter Gabriel offered his stirring rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine," and where the great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, filled the air with a sound so sweet, so powerful, so moving that it tugged at your heart.

And there was so much more.

Dancers danced. Skaters skated, sometimes with flames blazing from the backs of their helmets. Dignitaries carried themselves with dignity, saying all the wonderful words that make us believe the Olympic spirit of fair play and sportsmanship remains alive in all of us.

Then came the athletes, more than 2,000 of them, men and women from 80 nations, marching cheerfully into the arena behind their flags, waving to the welcoming crowd and beaming their smiles around the world.

Finally, there was Alberto "La Bomba" Tomba, the beloved downhill skier who won Olympic gold twice in Calgary in 1988 and once more in Albertville in 1992. He carried the torch into the stadium and began a nine-skier relay that ended with Italy's 10-time medalist in Nordic skiing, Stefania Belmondo, who proudly provided the spark that lit the Olympic flame.

The building erupted.

For three feel-good hours, there was no better place to be _ not in sports, anyway. And for the next two weeks and two days, the eyes of the sports world will be drawn to this industrial, working-class city in the shadow of the Alps.

Even people who don't care much about sports tend to care about the Olympics.

We can only hope the people of Turin care, too . . . or start to.

Signs posted around the city proclaim, "Passion Lives Here." But, until the Opening Ceremonies, there didn't seem to be much excitement about the Olympics. There was no sense of anticipation. There was no buzz, other than the controversy caused by Italian protesters who disrupted the torch relay around the country.

Truth is, until Friday night, there was no Olympic feel about the place.

Maybe it's because there's not a flake of snow on the ground and plenty of smog in the air. Maybe it's because this isn't a picturesque, resort-type town and the mountains are two hours away. Maybe it's because it's winter, it was a work week and people here have jobs.

Whatever the reasons, only two-thirds of the available tickets have been sold.

There's a real chance these Olympics could suffer the same financial fate _ the same fiscal failing _ as the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, which could spend the rest of this century climbing out of debt.

And this time, you can't blame the cost of security: Athens spent more than $1 billion to safeguard the Olympics; Turin has spent just over $100 million.

The Winter Olympics, though, are only about two-thirds the size of the Summer Olympics.

Two-thirds the events. Two-thirds the athletes. Two-thirds the media.

Does that mean only two-thirds the interest?

Not necessarily: Check out the TV ratings for figure skating.

And, usually, we can count on the Winter Games to provide some juicy headlines, such as the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan spat in 1994, the U.S. hockey team's dorm trashing in 1998 and that cheating French figure-skating judge in 2002.

This year? We've already got Wayne Gretzky answering questions about his wife's alleged involvement with an illegal gambling ring allegedly run by his assistant coach _ and the men's hockey teams don't arrive until Monday night.

But there will be good stories, too.

Stories of triumph in the face of adversity. Stories of underdogs coming out on top. Stories that will tug at your heart.

Some of the best stories in sports are written at the Olympics by athletes we didn't know about, or care about, until they showed us something special.

The same will happen here, and the good, hard-working people of Turin will be proud of their city's place in Olympic lore.

But, much like the athletes who will compete, they need to embrace the moment.

This is their city. This is their Olympics. The next 16 days is their time to show the world something special.

Just like they did Friday night.