I thought the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics were spectacular. Quirky, funny, and very very British. It appeared to me that Matt Lauer and Bob Costas decided they’d compete with Fox’s Joe Buck and Tim McCarver for the title of “Providers of Most Banal Commentary Ever at a Sporting Event,” a title I didn’t think could ever be approached. I was wrong.

But worse, NBC decided that its American audience would far rather see yet another interview with Michael Phelps than perhaps the most moving part of the entire Opening Ceremonies, a memorial tribute in dance and song.

The official BBC One video is at the link above. Here’s an amateur video. Both are very good, and I’d have much preferred to see and hear that than the poor Mr. Phelps, who’s surely gotten to be the most over-exposed American Olympian since Shaun White.