Day 17 + ...

The day after the Olympics found me back at work. The last seventeen days have been a bit of a blur. The buildup to the Olympics was a long seven years, and the games themselves seemed to go by very quickly. It was fantastic to experience it first-hand and while I know I'll never experience anything like it again I hope to catch a little of the spirit at some point in the future. I won't miss all the line-ups and the security screenings, but all-in-all there was very little to complain about. I took buses and the Skytrain around Vancouver, and took buses (for the first time) at Whistler. I gained a new appreciation for my city and even felt like I was seeing it for the first time on some occasions. I loved hearing the tourists speaking in the own language and seeing everyone decked out in the colours of their home country (or perhaps they were just wearing that Russian gear because they thought it looked cool!). I still want to get my hands on an orange Nederland toque. I hope you've enjoyed reading my posts. I'll put a few more pictures up, but this'll probably be my last post. Adios!

Day 17 - The Postgame

 

It took a long time for the crowd to escape Canada Hockey Place and everyone downtown was already partying. The police were having a hard time keeping traffic flowing on the roads that weren't already closed for pedestrians. They gave up in a couple of places. With my entire head painted red with white maple leafs and the number "1" I was getting stopped for photos every ten feet and getting high fives from passersby. The noise was deafening as everyone was honking horns and whooping. This party was going to last a long time!

Day 17 - The Game

 

Yes, that's me on the left, with my brother Robin. Without Robin I don't know if I would have seen a single Olympic event, but thanks to his generosity and enthusiasm I had a fantastic Olympic experience and the culmination was being able to watch the Gold Medal Match in Men's Hockey from amazing seats. The game started out well with a goal for Team Canada in the first by Jonathan Toews. Canada increased its lead in the second with a coal by Corey Perry. Throughout this tournament I got the feeling that Canada knew how to play with the "pedal to the metal", but weren't very good at protecting a lead. Five minutes after Perry's goal Ryan Kesler (a Vancouver Canuck, ironically) cut the lead in half. In third the play was much tighter than in the second and with the seconds counting down the Americans pulled their goalie. A scramble left two Americans alone in front of Luongo and Zach Parise scored with 25 seconds left. The crowd was extremely tense during the fifteen minute intermission. I felt pretty good about Team Canada's chances as I thought they played much better when they were trying to score than trying to hold a lead. Sure enough, 7:40 into overtime Sidney Crosby took a pass from Jerome Iginla and scored the winner. The crowd went berserk. Nobody left before the medal presentations, and the party started!

Day 17 - The Pregame

 

Vancouver was awake early this Sunday and the energy in the city was palpable. Taking the bus downtown everyone was wearing Canada gear and waving flags. Entering Canada Hockey Place there were a few US jerseys in the crowd, including Vince Vaughn, in the shot above. The mood inside the building was full of anticipation. Nobody was thinking this was going to be easy.