Stephen Brunt, a columnist for the Globe and Mail, put together a remarkable video essay about the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. [Update] At the time this post was published, the video couldn’t be embedded but in the months since, it has appeared on YouTube:
“… the show got off to an unequivocally awful start. Hours before the cauldron was lit, a luger was killed during a practice run, raising questions about the safety of the state-of-the-art track built specifically for these Olympics. A technical glitch marred the climactic moment of the Opening Ceremony, and freakishly warm weather threatened to melt the Cypress Mountain venue, forcing cancellations and eventually mass ticket refunds. The much-hyped Canadian hope for a home gold medal fell short on the opening day of competition, and the opportunistic overseas press corps focused in on every glitch, pronouncing the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics a failure and an embarrassment to the host country even before they had really begun.
It would have been no surprise in those circumstances for the country to curl up in the fetal position, to experience a great national cringe: We weren’t good enough; in the big moment, we hadn’t come through; we weren’t up to the task; we should never have become involved (or spent the money) in the first place.
What happened instead were the streets of Vancouver filling with huge crowds, young, pan-ethnic, the very image of the place, decked out in national colours, patriotic gear the fashion statement of the moment, and that became the story. From across the country came reports of other gatherings, more modest naturally, and then the first television numbers, showing that unprecedented numbers of Canadians were tuning in…
…Apparently, it wasn’t all about flawless execution and it wasn’t all about winning medals and it wasn’t even all about sport. It was about providing an opportunity, a platform, an excuse, to let loose pent-up feelings of national pride, to express, without apology, with a spirit of joy, a national identity, hitting emotional notes beyond the usual touchstones of climate and geography, of politeness, tolerance, universal health care and hockey.”
The Vancouver 2010 Games were one of the highlights of my life, as a local, as a blogger, and as a spectator. I’m sure we’ll be talking about them for years to come. See you at Sochi 2014!
This was arguably the biggest game in our nation’s history. It wasn’t the Summit Series, but it was the Olympic gold medal game on our home turf, against our continental brothers. The USA played hard, Miller stood on his head to stop us, and they even made us sweat… a lot. You couldn’t have imagined this match up and you couldn’t have fathomed that this game would go into overtime with Crosby scoring the winning goal.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, and more inspire young boys and girls to start playing hockey. In fact, I look forward to seeing the next generation grow up with this sport (and more) thanks to Vancouver 2010.
This is the storybook stuff Disney thrives on – but it wasn’t a miracle – it was our country holding its breath and coming together from coast to coast to believe that we could do this.
I admit, I cried. This is my town, my country, and my Canucks goalie that kept pucks out of the net. Even though my American husband might make me sleep on the couch tonight, it’s totally worth it.
Tomorrow might not be declared a national holiday, but I know many will have an Olympic-sized hangover. If not from beer and spirits, but from the excitement, enthusiasm, and passion that made Vancouver burst at its seams over the last 17 days.
I’ve featured this webcam before but I think for this afternoon’s hockey game, where Canada takes on the USA for the gold medal, this would be an interesting view of downtown crowds.
It’s bound to be a sea of red later, despite the rain outside. From the gold medal game to the Closing Ceremony, people will be out in droves to cap off their Vancouver 2010 Olympic experience downtown.
Thanks to the Province of British Columbia for making Robson Square one of the best places to be during the Games (and during the Paralympic Games). I know my family in Germany has checked out this cam before and I think it’s been a really neat view of one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in our City.
Update Of course there are multiple camera views so if you’re seeing only empty stairs, they haven’t yet switched over to the other street view.
It’s the very last day of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and I’m pretty sure I’m never going to forget this experience — or find something to top it in the near future.
Day 16 yesterday started off with a press conference with our men’s short track speed skating team. They collected gold the night before while Charles Hamelin and François-Louis Tremblay picked up individual medals as well.
This morning, it was announced that Hamelin would be our country’s flag-bearer in the closing ceremony. He’s the only person to win two gold for Canada and in a Winter Games where we dominated the gold count, it’s pretty noteworthy. Update: reports now say Joannie Rochette will carry the flag.
Yesterday morning Joannie Rochette, who won bronze in figure skating just days after her mother’s passing, received the inaugural Terry Fox award [cknw].
Since John wasn’t working at the day job, (thank goodness for Saturdays) we headed over to the Royal Canadian Mint so that he could hold the medals for himself.
To round out the day, I interviewed George Stroumboulopoulos before heading to the Molson Brewery, where we were invited to watch the game.
More medals, three pavilions, one press conference, one interview and one brewery and here we are on Day 17. Vancouver 2010 has had its ups and downs, and while I’m still battling a stuffed up nose paired with a bit of a fever, there’s no stopping now.
Since last year, whenever George Stroumboulopoulos has found himself in Vancouver he has also graciously found the time to do a little interview with me.
“… the show got off to an unequivocally awful start. Hours before the cauldron was lit, a luger was killed during a practice run, raising questions about the safety of the state-of-the-art track built specifically for these Olympics. A technical glitch marred the climactic moment of the Opening Ceremony, and freakishly warm weather threatened to melt the Cypress Mountain venue, forcing cancellations and eventually mass ticket refunds. The much-hyped Canadian hope for a home gold medal fell short on the opening day of competition, and the opportunistic overseas press corps focused in on every glitch, pronouncing the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics a failure and an embarrassment to the host country even before they had really begun.
What happened instead were the streets of Vancouver filling with huge crowds, young, pan-ethnic, the very image of the place, decked out in national colours, patriotic gear the fashion statement of the moment, and that became the story. From across the country came reports of other gatherings, more modest naturally, and then the first television numbers, showing that unprecedented numbers of Canadians were tuning in…
