The Upsons

Another beautiful day up at Whistler and everyone’s focus in on Game 2 this afternoon against Switzerland.  But first, start the day off with a famous Zog’s Dog, I of course opted for the jalapeno smokie.  Zog’s is a great “shack” right at the base of Whistler that has dogs, burgers and poutine with sausages, which I managed to hold back on.  I especially loved the “self serve” fried onion wok.

As I said, all eyes were on Game 2 against the Swiss.  There was lots of talk that it was 4 years ago to the day Canada was beaten by Switzerland in a 2-0 upset.  In that game Canada outshot Switzerland 49-18…this time it would be an eerily similar result of 45-20.  The game, however would thankfully have a different outcome.  As I headed out into the village to watch the start of the game there were so many fans, flags, and freaks it was amazing to see.  This one was my favourite – the dude wearing the score clock hat (helmet?) with working goal light.  Gotta get me one of those.

Everyone was feeling pretty confident with Canada up 2-0 in the second period so I headed over to Swiss House (or Maison de la Suisse) to gloat but just as I arrived they tied up the game so I headed back with my tail between my legs.

In the end our boys prevailed and I did return to Maison de la Suisse after and took a bite out of the world’s largest (only?) chocolate Inukshuk, made by Lindt.

I can’t imagine how insane things are going to be Sunday afternoon when Canada plays the US in Game 3.  In fact, the press started talking about the US game as soon as this one was finished.  Here’s an interesting article from CTV that explains why it actually might be a good thing if Canada loses to the US.  A bit of proactive damage control to our national pride perhaps?  Can’t wait for Sunday to watch this game.

At the Medals presentation that night I witnessed something that initially confused me.  As I watched the RCMP raise the flags for the 10k biathlon, I was perplexed why there were two flags on a single flag pole (there’s always 3 separate flags in a row for Gold, Silver, Bronze)

I realized that Norway and Belarus tied for Silver (to the thousandth of a second!), which is why their flags were together on the same pole.  This also answers the question of “do they make extra medals?”  They must, since they have to account for ties in Gold, Silver, or Bronze.  If I can ever get into the Canadian Mint pavilion I’ll be sure to ask this.  It is also worth noting that every Medals Ceremony I have gone to includes the Norwegian national anthem -- I really should have taken them in my Olympics pool

Then the night ended with a performance from Canadian DJ Dedmau5, who is famous for performing in a bit of a “costume”, as you’ll see in this clip.  You’ll also see right at the end of this clip some of the Norwegian Horn Heads that are always around the village.

All in all, it was a different vibe in Medals Plaza to have an artist like this performing instead of the more traditional “rock” fare we’ve had so far.  Who knew we could have an Olympic rave-like atmosphere at Whistler.

Finally, I’ll share this story with you that gives a good overview of how unique it is up here at Whistler vs. Vancouver.

Tags: Deadmau5, Hockey, Victory Ceremony, Whistler
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Sunday we spent the entire day in downtown Vancouver taking in the madness.  I really think the whole world arrived this weekend, I’ve never seen anything like it.  I’ve been to Bangkok, Hong Kong and I’ve never seen the density of people like this.

There is so much to take in I could explore the city 12 hours a day and still not cover everything.  I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that no matter how hard I try I’m not going to see it all.  Some highlights from the city include:

An updated visit to the countdown clock.  This answers the question: “once the games begin, will it countdown to Closing Ceremonies or count up the number of days?”

There’s a free Zipline over one of the downtown parks where the skating rink is that I was hoping to do, but the lineup was over 5 hours yesterday so that may not be happening.  I’ll be checking back on this in the coming weeks though because it would make a really great video.

Also in the same park was a “ride to Sochi” tent where they are accumulating the miles on two stationary bikes so the 2010 games can “bike” to Russia for the 2014 games.  Here’s Zoe and Matilda doing their part:

Keeping with the theme of crowds and mobs, there is also a 3-4 hour lineup to get into the new Canadian Mint building.  This actually looks pretty cool since you get to see (and touch?) the actual medals, as well as something called “the Million Dollar coin”.  Didn’t Mr. Burns have one of those?  This is something else we’ll be coming back to try with hopefully less people.

After fighting through the crowds all day we needed to seek a refuge (and find a public washroom) so we retreated to the Vancouver Sun/Province building where Martin & Nikki work.  We popped upstairs to the 7^th floor to check out the view, and I’m happy to report that this shows Vancouver without clouds, rain or fog!

Then onto the highlight of the night…the Victory Ceremony.  As I mentioned, this is the nightly presentation of medals at Whistler and Vancouver, followed by some pretty impressive performers (Nelly Furtado on this night).  We had tickets to the event on Sunday which meant that not only was I fortunate enough to witness the first medals present for the entire games up at Whistler on Saturday, I now get to witness the first medals presented in Vancouver…and best of all, to Canada (Silver and Bronze).  Ideally this would have been a Gold Medal presentation, but still pretty awesome.

This first video shows some of the opening performances at the ceremony with some bollywood infused international flair

Followed by the presentation of our first medal to Jennifer Heil…and the camera battery died just in time!

And finally, in addition to seeing Stockwell Day in Starbucks, I also met some of Team Russia.

Another incredible day in the books.

Tags: Medals, Vancouver, Victory Ceremony
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Saturday night I had the very exclusive privilege of attending the first Victory Ceremony at Whistler Medals Plaza.  Every night of the games there are these “Victory Ceremonies” at Whistler and in Vancouver at BC Place where the medals for the day are awarded and some pretty impressive musical acts perform.  The one in Whistler Saturday night was extra special for a few reasons.  Not only was it was the initial ceremony that so it was the first medals presented of the games, it also featured the lighting of the Olympic cauldron up here at Whistler.  And I had a pretty impressive perspective, check it out.

First of all, the security is escalated big time now that things are officially underway.  This video shows the RCMP checking under cars coming into the village at certain checkpoints, and the next one is the VIP entrance to Medals Plaza that I get access to

Once inside, I was taking in some of the rehearsal of All-American-Rejects.  Recall that my video from the other day shows this stage still under construction so things have been moving at an insane pace.

That was before my shift started over in the International Media Centre (down at the other end of the village), but I made sure to head over for the start of the festivities.  As soon as I got inside I positioned myself right where I knew the action was going to happen.  Here’s the RCMP coming out to raise the flags for the medals ceremony and a self portrait of me with them

The first order of business was to light the torch at Whistler, with a good intro from John Furlong, VANOC CEO.  I was asleep at the wheel and missed the actual ignition of it – they lit a fuse from the stage that shot across the plaza and lit the torch right above me – d’oh.

Then it was time to raise the Olympic flag.  Again, I’m standing right with the RCMP on this one.

Then the main course, the presentation of the first medals of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games!!!  Sadly I only had the video from our camera and not the actual good video camera (double d’oh).  The only way this could have been better is if there was a Canadian medal…

Then the pinnacle of the evening.  Just look at the picture to see who else was right with me at the ceremony!  Cross the #1 priority off my list, but this will not be the last time I hang with Miga and Quatchi I can assure you.  Then I followed them backstage to the staff exit and headed back for my shift.

All in all an amazing night and an incredible experience.

Tags: Behind the scenes, Medals, Victory Ceremony, Whistler
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