Source: http://kotaku.com/5516720/super-mario-and-japans-national-pride
When I read the article I laughed. Hard. A piece of game music played in the Olympics instead of the Japanese national anthem. That's what Nobuo Uematsu thought of at an anime convention. Whether or not he meant it is a different story, but for now I'd like to believe it's all just for fun.
Quoted: "I felt they should've run that during the Olympic medal ceremony instead of the Japanese national anthem"
Well, sure, Mario's theme song means a lot to Japan(and I do mean a lot, being responsible for nearly most of the gaming pop culture that blossomed later on), but this is the anthem we're talking about. If it were my country, I sure wouldn't replace 'Negaraku' (Malaysian national anthem) with...um....I dunno, some other game music that means a lot to me.
Okay, I'll stop rambling about being patriotic, this topic gets a bit touchy at times.
