Olympic Recap

 Dear Readers,

I know that some of you in far off places are vicariously enjoying my Olympic experience (Thanks for the notes) but sometimes a girl gets really busy. Especially when she has been watching speed skating and curling and hockey and ignoring her other responsibilities. I apologize for the delay in getting the final Olympic blog up, but I had more important pressing things to take care of.









Like stopping to smell the flowers. Thank goodness spring gloriously erupted before the Olympic flame went out.

The potential for a city wide depression after such a high could be substantial.

But, it's difficult to feel melancholy when vibrant colour is splashing itself across every tree and bush.

Gone are the street performers that kept everyone laughing, like these clowns from Slovakia.

The super rich have set sail hopefully leaving bags of money behind.

 Everyone that had a horse in this race took off from YVR on Monday making it the busiest day in the airport's history. Which, they bragged on Tuesday, went flawlessly.










Yes it's over. As the flame went out on the cauldron there was a collective gasp; not as huge or as soul sucking as the the gasp when the Parise scored for the USA but significant. Even though everyone knew it was over, the finality of the fire going out seemed a shock. Before the jubilation of the Canadian win in hockey, there was a sadness in the air for the last two days of the Olympics. I was surprised by my own feelings. I wasn't thrilled about the Olympics coming. I remember  the city referendum about the Olympics. (After they had already been awarded?) We discussed what we thought were the pros and cons. Living in protest central, all I heard were the cons, but I do recall arguing that a positive could be for Vancouver to have a collective experience. Every other city I have lived in in Canada has events that engage the citizenry as a whole. Not in Vancouver, for all it's beauty and abundance, it's a cold place. There are many reasons for this. A protest culture with a militant faction, a police force paranoid of large gatherings since the 1994 Stanley Cup riot and APEC conference pepper spraying, almost everyone is from somewhere else, NIMBYism, ultra polarized politics, the detachment of a cannabis culture... blah blah blah.

For me, the most lasting legacy of these Olympics will be the opportunity it gave people from all walks of life to gather in the streets and experience joy together. In this most negative, grumpy of places this was a moment over due and longing to happen.

After the first few horrible days of the Olympics,  general euphoria set in and  I wondered where the protests went. The observers publicly stated that the police had behaved themselves and the fissure that developed within the coalition seemed to take the air out of the movement. Finally, on Thursday I noticed a poster for another protest and thought the opportunity for pictures, that I missed when I had my cold, had again presented itself.

Although the local arena, Britannia, did not get an upgrade

 as a Olympic hockey practice facility it was used as one anyway. This did not please the people who felt they had saved the neighbourhood from the dreaded games.

There were about twenty-five people, mingling, sitting in the grass, listening to rap music and seemingly enjoying the sun.

The police swooped in to repress the demonstration. Well, actually, across the street two cops with bicycles watched and casually chatted with amused bystanders. The protesters seemed to be in a festive mood. I guess the energy created by masses of people coming together permeated even this.

Since the women's hockey gold medal game had just started, the streets were virtually empty and a protest isn't much of a protest without an audience, so it wasn't long before everyone left. I wondered down to the Ontario pavilion and watched the end of the game on a big screen on the side of the building.

After cheering the women's win I headed for BC Place as I had a ticket for the evening's Victory Celebration. I was supposed to be early to go through security but the game delayed me (and everyone else) but it wasn't a problem. There was fifteen security gates that easily handled the approaching crowd.

I had nosebleed seats which, at first, bothered me but then I noticed that I had a really good view of everything, including the mechanics of the show's production. This may not thrill most people but I have been around enough film sets to appreciate difficult rigging. The cranes and elaborate lighting set up blew me away. Cameras rigged to cables shot from the roof to the floor in seconds and another whizzed by horizontally. Two steady cams, one on a jib arm, at least five on sticks. Just watching the logistics kept me thoroughly entertained.                                                                                 

 This was as close as I'll ever need to be to Ben Mulroney.

 

To keep the audience amused before the show started, a camera roamed around stopping on an unsuspecting audience members.  Everyone was egged on to cheer for a kiss. It was corny but I caught myself chuckling a few times.

It was a treat to see the Short Track Relay gals  receive their silver medals. The Chinese team that won gold were so thrilled it was very moving to watch.

The crowd went nuts for the Women's Bobsled Team and their silver medals.

But that was nothing compared to the roar that shook the building when our gold medal team took the stage. I got the giggles listening to twenty thousand flag waving hosers belt out O' Canada.

Of course, being Manitoba night, the evening was finished off with Burton Cummings. The fifty-something lady from North Winnipeg sitting next to me was swooning with excitement. I had way more fun watching her than him.

Walking home the Saskatchewan and Quebec pavilions lit up the clear evening.

So did the full moon. I felt like I was in a magical dream. The Vancouver of two weeks previous didn't exist.

Then came the most quintessential Canadian moment of all.

No not this one.

Ya, this one. The big game. The ultimate show down. Revenge, national pride on the line, all that stuff. Looooooouuuuuuuu! We watched the game at home with a couple of friends and made the mistake of eating bbqed hamburgers in the third period. What a recipe for a stomach ache that was.

We celebrated Sidney's goal in a way we felt appropriate; beer in champagne glasses

Then, we took to the streets. Even "too cool for school" Commercial Drive was alive in red and white. Every car that drove by had flags in the windows and honked their horns non stop. Pedestrians reached out to high five the car passengers.

Thousand upon thousands spilled into the streets. Everyone was singing, cow bells rang, every vehicle on the street and boat in the harbour was honking, it was deafening.

Santa took a break to party.

Elvis rose from the dead. It was a happening place to be.

Love was in the air.

So was the smell of weed and beer being dumped into the sewer by the cops.

Young and old, back and white, liberals and conservatives, men wearing turbins with Canada flags sticking out, women with muslim head scarves and flag tatoos on their cheeks, everyone was there sharing the joy.

My cheeks hurt from smiling.

I have listened to a lot of post modem and analysis on the games, all the experts speculating on why Canadians and especially Vancouverites reacted the way they did. I still can't really comprehend how this thing, the Olympics, that were so dreaded by everyone turned into a communal expression of joy. Relief? Pent up frustration? Personally I think some of it came from a weariness of cynicism. Our politics, media, internet commentators, even artists work from the negative. Everything is so dire, global warming, poverty, H1N1, funding cuts, famine, it's endless. I think everyone just wanted to go outside and play and forget about it all for a couple of days. We needed an excuse to feel unabashedly happy instead of guilty or jealous or angry or paranoid that someone else's gain was their loss. I hope some of this positive energy can stick around for awhile. We sure could use it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could use it to help each other and constructively grow together rather than whining and bitching and complaining and suspecting the worse of each other all the time. 

I know I sound a little Pollyannaish, which surprises even me, but, good grief, it was sure nice to have something to cheer for rather than against.