The Games of the XXIX Olympiad concluded on Sunday like they began-in a festival of light and color. That bright blue - that Beijing blue - that had us swimming on the floor of the Bird's Nest during the closing ceremonies (and that served as the boundary to the indoor volleyball court) is burnished into my brain (will it work its way into our wardrobes next summer?).

For all the pre-Olympic talk of smog and haze, I will remember the 2008 Olympics as a harmony of bright swirling colors that oddly matched and flowed into one another, no matter what controversies simmered in the background.

By comparison, what was up with London's presentation? The predominant color in the performers' costumes was gray, and don't umbrellas portend mist and gloom, even when illuminated? Perhaps they were trying to remove the sweet Chinese gumdrop from our mouths and bring us back to reality. Still, compared to China's flowing pageantry, England's show was unsettling and cacophonous.

NBC punctuated the closing ceremony with a look back at highlights over the last 16 days. The "Performances of the Games" segments showed what we expected: Michael Phelps winning the men's 100m butterfly by a fingernail, Jason Lezak swimming into first place in the men's 4x100m relay and delivering Phelps another gold medal, Shawn Johnson nailing her balance beam routine, and Nastia Liukin earning the all-around gymnastics gold medal with her floor routine.

They were all exciting moments and fun to see yet again. But this look back reinforced the medal count hype - that what counts in the Olympics is winning the medals arms race. Aren't we told, from grade school through adult soccer leagues, that it's not whether we win or lose, it's how we play? And the fact that we play?

I thought Home Depot's commercials did a better job of summing up the Olympic experience. In these ads, we were able to see in primetime - albeit briefly - Michelle Guerette rowing her single scull, Khatuna Lorig aiming her bow in archery, Ronda Rousey on the judo mat, Jill Camarena hurling her shot put, Hyleas Fountain showing off her heptathlon medal, and Hanna Thompson fencing. Guerette, Rousey, Fountain, and Thompson won silver medals in their respective sports.

As we glimpsed these American athletes competing, a narrator said, "You did it. You took our breath away. You put lumps in our throats. You made us dream big. To all Home Depot associates who competed in these Games, it's time to say thank-you."

Replace the words "Home Depot associates" with "the athletes," and the ad, I believe, speaks for us viewers. Yes, we would have liked to see more sports, more events and more athletes without having to TiVo hours of coverage on various channels. But what we did see was worth staying up for.

When we could.