The Hamelin brothers getting fourth and fifth in short track was one of the first times I was actually mad that a Korean won. Usually if Korea wins, I am all for it. I have pride for my motherland. Koreans are just as crazy for their sports athletes, and that sense of pride is perfectly captured by this quote from a member of the South Korean Olympic committee. I did not edit this quote and I just love the abrupt transition at the end:
“I think the whole nation is in front of the television,” said John Moon, chief of staff of the South Korean Olympic Committee. “Kim Yu-na is the country’s special sister. Every athlete is important, but her medal is more important than the others. She is beautiful. She’s our pride. I think the Koreans will have a lot of drinks.”
BTW if anyone knows where I can get that Team Korea jacket that Yuna was sporting let me know. Not in her size though. Please, I know you may think it, but I am not that slender.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Olympic Sized Recap...
Of the Olympics!
I don't really know how to feel today since it is the first time in almost three weeks that I don't have some sort of Olympic-oriented goal. My wife wonders why I couldn't put the energy I spent towards the Vancouver games in some other capacity. I wonder too. I think I feel a little bit of sadness knowing that Vancouver will never see something like this ever again. I also know that I am proud of our city, prouder of our country, and am reaffirmed about how sports can play an essential part of connecting all of us in the community.
As if there are not enough reviews and recollections of these Games, I thought I would offer up my thoughts from a non-media perspective. What better way to serve up recollections with a Victory Ceremony web-style:
Fourth place finishes:
1) Cancelling tickets at Cypress. We can truck tons of snow from Manning, but we can't figure out some way to seat the general admission holders? One friend of mine was essentially robbed of Maelle Ricker's gold medal performance, since his tickets were no longer valid. Couldn't we have brought up all the Bouncy Castles from the Lower Mainland and provided that as the general admission area?
2) Long line-ups into essentially 3-D commercials. If I hadn't seen most of the pavilions before the crowds really got going, I cringe to think of how angry I might have been.
Bell Cube: Just TVs and Bell phones.
Samsung Pavilion: More of the same.
BC Pavilion: A 5 minute 3-D video of BC that would have made James Cameron chortle.
I did like the Royal Mint but deductions for waiting for FIVE hours to see the medals. Also deductions for the 1.5 hour wait into Coca-Cola House. The Bay Olympic Superstore: 1 hour wait
A lot of waiting. But really in retrospect, I only have myself to blame because I was the idiot that decided to wait in all the lines.
3) Cringe-worthy planning during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Russia's 5 minute bit in the Closings was better than almost anything Vanoc did. Except for KD Lang. That ice rink in Sochi by the water... that was crazy.
4) Juh nuh parles frankcaahs trez bien. Furlong's French. Nuff said.
5) Jamie Campbell's spotty play by play in a lot of sports he clearly knows nothing about. Did anyone see his first day calling snowboard half-pipe? The first rider took a jump and he yelled "WOAH" or something to that effect and then after two more yells you could clearly tell he thought he was witnessing the second coming of Shaun White. I believe someone told him what he saw wasn't that great, because he was real quiet for the rest of the day. Stick to calling a good game in baseball with the Blue Jays. Now don't get me wrong, he did bring a good amount of enthusiasm to his calls Re: Bilodeau, but he could have used some more experience with the Cypress events.
6) "I Believe" song by Nikki-whatever-her-name-is. Thanks for shoving this sappy song down our throats CTV. Some mornings I tried to rip my own larynx out because I would spontaneously start singing it.
Bronze Finish:
1) CTV for a decent job their first time through. Hearing Chris Cuthbert announce hockey was a trip back to the 80s when he used to do the Edmonton Oiler games for CBC. Cuthbert was excellent. Rod Black, figure skating calls were professional and polished. Vic Router was solid in curling. Brian Williams was great. Bob Costas on NBC is the man. Liz Manley needs work.
2) Streets of Vancouver: Robson and Granville area, the first weekend. The first weekend was busy and a little bit more family-friendly. This past weekend was an excuse by many to get really drunk. Well, at least everyone was friendly.
3) The Canada Line: I used to get angry on my morning commute into school, because of all the Cambie Street closures. After using the Canada Line on numerous occasions, it is nice to see at least one tangible legacy from these Games. Deductions for only having TWO ticket kiosks at most of the stations.
4) Own the Podium: We were all so quick to write off this program after that Sucky Saturday and Sunday. It is quite apparent to all that without this funding our gold medal haul would never have happened. At least we were not Russia, projecting 30 medals and leaving with fifteen. Heads are rolling in Russia.
Let's just hope that the Canadian men's hockey team follows the lead of Clara Hughes, Bilodeau, Heil, and others and donates that money back to the community. Does Luongo need another $25,000?
5) Ice Dance Pairs: The fact that I actually enjoyed Moir and Virtue's gold performance... I don't want to say anything more.
6) Mary Cirillo's great little features on NBC. The one focused on Joe Juneau's contributions working with First Nations children through hockey was so good that it made me reassess what I thought about Joe Juneau (sort of soft player with good passing skills). IF only all of use could be a little like Joe.
Silver medal:
1) Canada's short track team: Some of the most exciting races during the Olympics. I am still lamenting the fact that I sold those tickets thus missing out on two golds and one bronze awarded to Canada. But I couldn't miss Canada men's semi-finals hockey, right? Right? (as you sit there shaking your head)
2) The volunteers of Vanoc: The legion of blue made all of us proud. I was awestruck by the amount of hours these people put in during the games. 10-12 hours a day and never once did I run into a surly blue Smurf.
3) My Shaw PVR expander: My brother-in-law showed me his just as the Games started. 1 terabyte of storage finally allows me to record tons of show in HD. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to record the Olympics everyday on both CTV and NBC. Deductions for bumping up the price this week ($199 from $150). For $150 it was definitely worth it and now I can record the entire season of LOST to rewatch in the summer.
4) The Polish women's speed skating team for winning bronze after being ranked the worst country in that event. Their reaction was just pure emotion and they looked like they had won gold. Plus bonus points for beating USA.
5) The rise of curling. Had Cheryl Bernard won gold, she would have been drowning in a sea of endorsements. The men of America loved her and it is weird to see how the media called her the Curling Cougar or the Curlgar. She should have taken care of business in that 10th end. Who would have thought the men of Wall Street would become obsessed with the sport. Pretty cool to think if you join the Vancouver league that you get to play in that Olympic building. Way to go Kevin Martin, who waited 8 years for his redemption.
6) The waitress at Metropole, where we watched the gold hockey game, for finding my favourite scarf and holding it for me. I think Vancouver was the nicest place to be in the last two weeks. I haven't felt this energy and enthusiasm ever in this town.
Gold Medal:
1) Attending Canada-Russia hockey game: I cannot properly describe what it felt like with all those goals scored in the first period. The elation that jumped out of me with each goal, matched by the frenzy of those in the crowd... awesome. I bear-hugged my wife seven times and at one point, she asked "Could you please stop screaming into my ear?"
2) Attending Russia-Czech hockey game: I took my dad with me to this game. I realized how selfish of a son I had been, since I hadn't taken my dad to a hockey game in a loooong time. This was a very enjoyable moment of the Games that encapsulated spending time with family and friends. My parents stayed over the night of Yuna Kim's skate. We went with my sister and her friends downtown the past Friday to enjoy Blue Rodeo. Bumping into friends on Robson. Getting to see a curling match with my friends. Watching copious amounts of hockey with my friends. Cheering madly and jumping up and down for joy with my friends when Sid the Kid scored that overtime winner... these Olympics were all about spending time and sharing small little moments with the people you love.
3) Watching Wilco on the first Friday with my lovely wife at LiveCity Yaletown was such a great night. The fireworks show at Yaletown was thrilling and almost better than the summer fireworks because the explosions were so close.
4) The overtime goal. Pure happiness which brought me back to my more youthful days when I watched Lemieux's goal in the 87 Canada Cup. Pretty cool to think of a generation of kids will forever remember this moment. Undescribable is the only way to explain this moment in time.
5) I have to mention another Canadian athletic performance, but how do you pick between Rochette, Bilodeau, Montgomery, Ricker, McIvor, Martin etc?
I guess the fact that I just wrote their last names and you knew who I was talking about says enough of the impression these Games made on us. I am going to wimp out and give the gold to Team Canada.
6) Friday night, Slovakia vs Canada, at Metropole in Gastown, the game finishes. I decide to start belting out O Canada with my buddy. Our group joins in and then the music cuts out and all you can hear is the entire bar singing the anthem. With goosebumps on my arms, I thought, "I love this country." Spontaneous outbursts of the anthem played out all over this country. Heck, my wife and I stood every time a gold medal was given out on TV. All of you experienced the group anthem singing at some time, somewhere this week. I know you did. And we can all agree that for two weeks, our country had one voice.
Beauty.
I don't really know how to feel today since it is the first time in almost three weeks that I don't have some sort of Olympic-oriented goal. My wife wonders why I couldn't put the energy I spent towards the Vancouver games in some other capacity. I wonder too. I think I feel a little bit of sadness knowing that Vancouver will never see something like this ever again. I also know that I am proud of our city, prouder of our country, and am reaffirmed about how sports can play an essential part of connecting all of us in the community.
As if there are not enough reviews and recollections of these Games, I thought I would offer up my thoughts from a non-media perspective. What better way to serve up recollections with a Victory Ceremony web-style:
Fourth place finishes:
1) Cancelling tickets at Cypress. We can truck tons of snow from Manning, but we can't figure out some way to seat the general admission holders? One friend of mine was essentially robbed of Maelle Ricker's gold medal performance, since his tickets were no longer valid. Couldn't we have brought up all the Bouncy Castles from the Lower Mainland and provided that as the general admission area?
2) Long line-ups into essentially 3-D commercials. If I hadn't seen most of the pavilions before the crowds really got going, I cringe to think of how angry I might have been.
Bell Cube: Just TVs and Bell phones.
Samsung Pavilion: More of the same.
BC Pavilion: A 5 minute 3-D video of BC that would have made James Cameron chortle.
I did like the Royal Mint but deductions for waiting for FIVE hours to see the medals. Also deductions for the 1.5 hour wait into Coca-Cola House. The Bay Olympic Superstore: 1 hour wait
A lot of waiting. But really in retrospect, I only have myself to blame because I was the idiot that decided to wait in all the lines.
3) Cringe-worthy planning during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Russia's 5 minute bit in the Closings was better than almost anything Vanoc did. Except for KD Lang. That ice rink in Sochi by the water... that was crazy.
4) Juh nuh parles frankcaahs trez bien. Furlong's French. Nuff said.
5) Jamie Campbell's spotty play by play in a lot of sports he clearly knows nothing about. Did anyone see his first day calling snowboard half-pipe? The first rider took a jump and he yelled "WOAH" or something to that effect and then after two more yells you could clearly tell he thought he was witnessing the second coming of Shaun White. I believe someone told him what he saw wasn't that great, because he was real quiet for the rest of the day. Stick to calling a good game in baseball with the Blue Jays. Now don't get me wrong, he did bring a good amount of enthusiasm to his calls Re: Bilodeau, but he could have used some more experience with the Cypress events.
6) "I Believe" song by Nikki-whatever-her-name-is. Thanks for shoving this sappy song down our throats CTV. Some mornings I tried to rip my own larynx out because I would spontaneously start singing it.
Bronze Finish:
1) CTV for a decent job their first time through. Hearing Chris Cuthbert announce hockey was a trip back to the 80s when he used to do the Edmonton Oiler games for CBC. Cuthbert was excellent. Rod Black, figure skating calls were professional and polished. Vic Router was solid in curling. Brian Williams was great. Bob Costas on NBC is the man. Liz Manley needs work.
2) Streets of Vancouver: Robson and Granville area, the first weekend. The first weekend was busy and a little bit more family-friendly. This past weekend was an excuse by many to get really drunk. Well, at least everyone was friendly.
3) The Canada Line: I used to get angry on my morning commute into school, because of all the Cambie Street closures. After using the Canada Line on numerous occasions, it is nice to see at least one tangible legacy from these Games. Deductions for only having TWO ticket kiosks at most of the stations.
4) Own the Podium: We were all so quick to write off this program after that Sucky Saturday and Sunday. It is quite apparent to all that without this funding our gold medal haul would never have happened. At least we were not Russia, projecting 30 medals and leaving with fifteen. Heads are rolling in Russia.
Let's just hope that the Canadian men's hockey team follows the lead of Clara Hughes, Bilodeau, Heil, and others and donates that money back to the community. Does Luongo need another $25,000?
5) Ice Dance Pairs: The fact that I actually enjoyed Moir and Virtue's gold performance... I don't want to say anything more.
6) Mary Cirillo's great little features on NBC. The one focused on Joe Juneau's contributions working with First Nations children through hockey was so good that it made me reassess what I thought about Joe Juneau (sort of soft player with good passing skills). IF only all of use could be a little like Joe.
Silver medal:
1) Canada's short track team: Some of the most exciting races during the Olympics. I am still lamenting the fact that I sold those tickets thus missing out on two golds and one bronze awarded to Canada. But I couldn't miss Canada men's semi-finals hockey, right? Right? (as you sit there shaking your head)
2) The volunteers of Vanoc: The legion of blue made all of us proud. I was awestruck by the amount of hours these people put in during the games. 10-12 hours a day and never once did I run into a surly blue Smurf.
3) My Shaw PVR expander: My brother-in-law showed me his just as the Games started. 1 terabyte of storage finally allows me to record tons of show in HD. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to record the Olympics everyday on both CTV and NBC. Deductions for bumping up the price this week ($199 from $150). For $150 it was definitely worth it and now I can record the entire season of LOST to rewatch in the summer.
4) The Polish women's speed skating team for winning bronze after being ranked the worst country in that event. Their reaction was just pure emotion and they looked like they had won gold. Plus bonus points for beating USA.
5) The rise of curling. Had Cheryl Bernard won gold, she would have been drowning in a sea of endorsements. The men of America loved her and it is weird to see how the media called her the Curling Cougar or the Curlgar. She should have taken care of business in that 10th end. Who would have thought the men of Wall Street would become obsessed with the sport. Pretty cool to think if you join the Vancouver league that you get to play in that Olympic building. Way to go Kevin Martin, who waited 8 years for his redemption.
6) The waitress at Metropole, where we watched the gold hockey game, for finding my favourite scarf and holding it for me. I think Vancouver was the nicest place to be in the last two weeks. I haven't felt this energy and enthusiasm ever in this town.
Gold Medal:
1) Attending Canada-Russia hockey game: I cannot properly describe what it felt like with all those goals scored in the first period. The elation that jumped out of me with each goal, matched by the frenzy of those in the crowd... awesome. I bear-hugged my wife seven times and at one point, she asked "Could you please stop screaming into my ear?"
2) Attending Russia-Czech hockey game: I took my dad with me to this game. I realized how selfish of a son I had been, since I hadn't taken my dad to a hockey game in a loooong time. This was a very enjoyable moment of the Games that encapsulated spending time with family and friends. My parents stayed over the night of Yuna Kim's skate. We went with my sister and her friends downtown the past Friday to enjoy Blue Rodeo. Bumping into friends on Robson. Getting to see a curling match with my friends. Watching copious amounts of hockey with my friends. Cheering madly and jumping up and down for joy with my friends when Sid the Kid scored that overtime winner... these Olympics were all about spending time and sharing small little moments with the people you love.
3) Watching Wilco on the first Friday with my lovely wife at LiveCity Yaletown was such a great night. The fireworks show at Yaletown was thrilling and almost better than the summer fireworks because the explosions were so close.
4) The overtime goal. Pure happiness which brought me back to my more youthful days when I watched Lemieux's goal in the 87 Canada Cup. Pretty cool to think of a generation of kids will forever remember this moment. Undescribable is the only way to explain this moment in time.
5) I have to mention another Canadian athletic performance, but how do you pick between Rochette, Bilodeau, Montgomery, Ricker, McIvor, Martin etc?
I guess the fact that I just wrote their last names and you knew who I was talking about says enough of the impression these Games made on us. I am going to wimp out and give the gold to Team Canada.
6) Friday night, Slovakia vs Canada, at Metropole in Gastown, the game finishes. I decide to start belting out O Canada with my buddy. Our group joins in and then the music cuts out and all you can hear is the entire bar singing the anthem. With goosebumps on my arms, I thought, "I love this country." Spontaneous outbursts of the anthem played out all over this country. Heck, my wife and I stood every time a gold medal was given out on TV. All of you experienced the group anthem singing at some time, somewhere this week. I know you did. And we can all agree that for two weeks, our country had one voice.
Beauty.
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