World Cup Opening Ceremony: They spent $9 million on this?

With protests raging in Sao Paulo on the eve of the World Cup opener, it was only fitting the self-proclaimed “Mr. Worldwide” would be the main attraction of the opening ceremonies. The World Cup is a tribute to excess, and Pitbull is the most excessive entertainer there is.

In order to better understand Pitbull, I watched the official video of his World Cup anthem “We Are One (Ole OIa)” at least 70 times in the past 24 hours. I had questions. Jennifer Lopez? Interesting choice. Pitbull’s thought-provoking lyrics left my mind racing through the night on the eve of the biggest day on the calendar. “When the going gets tough the tough get going,” he posits, striking a chord with FIFA officials tasked with keeping their tentacles out of the trough for longer than two minutes.

The ceremony began without Pitbull, Lopez and Claudia Leitte, the Brazilian J-Lo. The organizers opted instead to pay tribute to Brazil’s nature, people and football. It was all very pleasing but we were waiting for the big one. The song.

And then it happened. Pitbull, sporting the sort of pants (and tucked-in shirt) you normally see on a 53-year-old hipster, appeared out of sorts. The sound was off and the lip synching suffered for it. Lopez did her best, screaming into the microphone instead of letting the sound system do its job. Leitte took the opportunity to showcase her excellent dancing skills, upstaging Lopez. You don’t mess with Selena like that.

It was all very unsettling. A day of anticipation ended in sadness instead of euphoria. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

[Courtesy: CBC]

In the end I learned a lesson. Don’t put anyone on a pedestal, even Mr. Worldwide. Disappointment will follow.