Time For The Circus To Move On

Hard to believe that on 21 March at the conclusion of the Paralympic Games it will all be over.

Vancouver’s Olympic Games started with the horrifying death of an athlete and was followed by a series of glitches, none of which was lost on the British press. That venerable institution, The Times ridiculed Canada’s “Calamity Games”, but as time went on was forced to soften its tone as the Games got into stride. The rest, of course, is history.

And then there is Sochi, the Black Sea port city that will host the next Winter Olympics in 2014. Russia, uncharacteristically, had a poor medal showing at the Vancouver Games with the Russian President abruptly cancelling a scheduled visit to the closing ceremony, apparently in disgust. Their hockey team’s showing must have been the final straw.

“The Canadians came on to the ice like gorillas out of a cage” – supposedly a quote from the Russian goaltender. Canada won convincingly and the Russian superstars looked as though they were in shock.

Many of the Russian contingent I met in Vancouver didn’t smile a lot or spend much time on the usual pleasantries. In fact it became a bit of a game for me, as I tried to make eye contact and get a smile. The day of the Canada/Russia hockey game I smiled to those who met my gaze and muttered “Go Canada Go ---- but may the best team win”. Not much reaction.

The next morning I saw the same group of people, and one of the more stoic, took my arm and squeezed it slightly – “Your team better” he grimaced seriously.

Science World was Sochi House for the duration of the Games. The line up for the pavilion was long but people around us chatted amiably. It was a Spring-like day and there was lots to talk about as we slowly reached the entrance.

Once inside a young lady explained where Sochi was – most of the crowd didn’t seem to realize it was on the Black Sea. Movies were being shown, in Russian. Folk singers were in full voice, entertaining an appreciative crowd.

And then we went to the shop where official, and extraordinarily expensive, Russian team merchandize was on sale.

One of the other “must sees” during the Olympics was the Russian tall ship Kruzenshtern docked at Lonsdale Quay.

The Kruzenshtern, built in Germany in 1926, is one of the tallest sailing ships in the world and had to enter Vancouver's inner harbour at low tide.

This enormous vessel was absolutely magnificent and the Vancouver skyline provided a stunning backdrop that sunny afternoon. And yet while ship tours were being offered little English was spoken.

What a missed opportunity to learn more about one another - some good old fashioned PR would definitely have helped the cause.

So as the Olympic flag was passed between Vancouver and Sochi Mayors and the Moscow State Chamber Choir sang a stirring rendition of the Russian Federation anthem, I wondered what the next few years would bring as Sochi, and London, prepare for their "big shows".

When the circus comes to their respective towns in 2012 and 2014 I wish London and Sochi well - in their hearts they know that Vancouver 2010 set the gold standard and will be a very hard act to follow.

Golden Moments, All Fourteen Of Them

When Alexandre Bilodeau won gold in the men's moguls, you could almost feel the collective relief expressed by every Canadian - finally the curse of Canada never having won gold on home soil had been lifted.

And indeed it would have been soil had the Organizing Committee not been forced to truck in snow from Manning Park to keep winter on Cypress Mountain, fighting nature and one of the warmest winters on record. But they did it.

And the gold medals kept on coming.

But perhaps the sweetest golden moment of all was on the final afternoon of the Games.

The gold medal hockey game was the one we desperately wanted to win and if Canada had only managed to win one gold throughout the entire Games, this had to be it.

Canada's progress to the final game had been a nail-biting experience and this did not let up. As we watched Canada battle the USA in the winner take all final, stress levels mounted. And when the TV ratings were revealed it appears that practically everyone in the country had been compelled to stop what they were doing to watch and will the right outcome.

During a break in the coverage a panoramic view of Vancouver flashed across the screen and the announcer remarked on the eerie quietness of the city that sunny Sunday afternoon - where were all the people he pondered - where do you think .....

Thank you to the hockey gods for putting us out of our misery, even though the game went to sudden death overtime!

It was a fitting end to what had been a wonderful Winter Games on so many levels.

The zip trek lines that started before six in the morning, three hours before opening time at Robson Square.

Hudson's Bay Fever, as people lined three and four deep around the store to purchase their Olympic merchandise - who could leave town without a pair of those iconic red mittens.

Three to eight hour long waits, depending upon your line-up strategy, to get into the Mint's medal room to see and touch the Olympic and Paralympic medals.

The medals, worth about $1.8 million, based on current metal prices, depict contemporary First Nations artwork of an orca and a raven. Each medal is one of a kind, displaying a section from the artwork. Picking the medals up with special cotton gloves, we were surprised to find them heavy, wavy and spectacular.

In our easy going city, where walking along the seawall near Science World - or Sochi House during the Games - two familiar faces passed us in Team Sweden uniforms - Messrs Sedin and Ohlund were deep in conversation. But no one paid attention to these beloved hockey stars, how very Canadian.

The friendliness of the horses and the riders in Canada's fabled RCMP musical ride - one of the highlights of Surrey's Olympic Celebration Site at Holland Park.

And the sea of red and white everywhere, impromptu renditions of our National anthem and street hockey games that seemed to break out in exuberant moments of pure joy as another medal was nailed down by Team Canada (in addition to 14 gold, we managed 7 silver and 5 bronze medals).

Even our financial institutions jumped on the bandwagon with this amusing banner - and yes - RRSP deadline is looming fast.

Neil Young's "Long May You Run" was a fitting refrain as the Olympic flame was extinguished during the Closing Ceremony at BC Place. The flame in the cauldron on the waterfront expired at the same time - people remarked that if you had blinked you would have missed the moment.

And then the spectacle was over and it was time to draw breath on this escape from our collective realities.

To our Canadian Olympic athletes, you did us proud. Thank you. Now it's time for our Paralympians to take centre stage and compete for their own golden moments. I can hardly wait.