I AM CANADIAN
1 Mar
Seventeen days ago Wayne Gretzky stood in the back of GMC pickup truck trekking the Olympic torch across the downtown core in the pouring rain. Vancouver was criticized for the malfunction during the opening ceremonies and the ugly fencing around the cauldron in Coal Harbour. The world spoke of the lack of snow on Cypress Mountain; as if VANOC actually has some sort of control over the weather. But on Feb 15th Alex Bilodeau won our first GOLD medal and the city erupted. The sun came out and our streets became a sea of red & white chanting “O Canada”.
I witnessed over 2 hour lineups outside The Bay Store; the Olympic merchandise flew off the shelves with over 3 million of the red mittens sold. Nightly free musical acts and firework shows drew in massive crows to Live City Yaletown and Live City Downtown. As true Canadians we broke record beer sales in such magnitude the police felt it necessary to regulate liquor store hours. The “I Believe” song brought a tear to my eye each time I heard it and I fell in love with Jon Montgomery, skeleton gold medalist.
Yesterdays’ hockey game Canada vs. USA will most likely be remembered as the sporting event of the century, drawing in more than 3.3 billion viewers and hitting record ticket costs. The city was silent as Vancouverites sat on the edge of their seats as the Canadian hockey team battled to keep possession of the puck in overtime. “He shoots he scores!!!!” and like that….Crosby became an instant hero, scoring the winning goal. The city roared and a hundred thousand people flooded the streets celebrating the vital victory until the sun came up.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics brought out the best in our nation, showcasing our patriotism and our amazing city to the world. Congratulations to all our athletes and thank you for making the last two and half weeks unforgettable, leading the world with 14 gold medals. Voiceless from last night’s festivities, I’ve never been prouder to be Canadian!
PT Girl xo
