Assessing the Olympics

On the last day of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, the sun came out, casting a glow on the dramatic, story book finish to the 21^st Winter Olympic Games. What a nail-biting climax: a gold medal hockey game in which Canada defeated the US 3-2. On the way to the ferry to Vancouver Island that day, I noticed cherry blossoms and magnolias dotting the sidewalks and the Olympic Torch still burned high.

And I reflected on the last weeks in Vancouver and what the Olympics meant to us.  Here are a few observations:

Sports Create Community
Vancouver is not known as a gregarious city. I remember experiencing the general reticence of the West Coast Canadian when I moved here eight years ago. Yet having something communal to talk about opens people up, like smoking for the socially awkward. All of a sudden you know you can connect with other people about the Games and so you do: in lines, going through security at a venue, or at a restaurant or a bar. You realize you’re high-fiving a perfect stranger or beaming happily at a random guy you would have never even acknowledged before. I consider this a plus. It also made for very engaging train rides downtown.

People Love Standing in Lines for ANYTHING Free
From hot chocolate, to free Coca Cola, lobster at the Newfoundland House, or raclette at the Swiss House… people will stand in interminable lines patiently, in the sunshine (understandable), and in the rain (not understandable) for hours and hours and longer if necessary. Case in point: the zip line across downtown Vancouver’s popular Robson Square lasted about 30 seconds, but the line up to ride it was 7 hours long.

The Olympics Call Upon You to Dig Down Deep Inside for Your Inner Patriotism
Whereas most of us don’t spend much time thinking about what it means to be Canadian, American, Norwegian, or Swiss, the Olympics calls you to ally yourself to a country, at least on the surface. Patriotism equals rooting for your favourite team and subsequently all your national values. This may involve emblazoning your country’s colours on your cheeks and eyelids, wearing underwear the colour of your country’s flag, and of course wrapping yourself in your nation’s banner. 

The Olympics are Run by Corporations
The IOC is a corporation and VANOC, the local body that organized the Vancouver Olympics, is a corporation. Corporations love other corporations, so you can be certain the backdrop to everything about the games from sports to art installations is all about sponsorship. 

Also thanks to universal media contracts at the time of the games. From your arrival at the Vancouver airport, to decals on buses, billboards all around the city, advertisements by the Bells, Samsungs, Coca Colas and McDonalds of the world greet you. I observed parents waiting in line to take their children into the Coca Cola tent at one of the city’s downtown Livecity locations and what did one learn at the Coca Cola house? The history of Coke.

Olympic Athletes Eat at McDonalds
McDonalds had the largest food booth at the Olympic Village and was particularly popular among athletes for whom "McD's" is quite expensive in their home nation. What I would like to know is whether they ate McDonalds before or after they competed.

Olympic Tickets are Very Expensive
Even for residents of the host city, sometimes TV has the best view after all. Watching the games on TV doesn't require a sacrifice of a day of waiting in line for seven hours and travelling to and from the venue, which itself might be considered a sport.

Olympic Tourists are Overwhelmed
Keeping up with the Olympics is hard and tourists don’t venture too far from the venues unless it is to eat or drink. As a local, we found the two weeks of the Olympics optimal to go to our favourite eateries – even ones featured in the New York Times such as my favourite Indian restaurant, Vijs, finding they were less busy than pre-Olympics and without line ups or hordes of expected visitors. We also wanted to help support our favourite local businesses.

The Olympics are About Life and Death Condensed
From the death of the Georgian Luger at the start of the 2010 Olympics in Whistler, to Canadian Joannie Rochette’s persistence to win a bronze medal in memory of her mother who died at the commencement of the games, the Olympics recall the passion we have for living and performing at our highest capacity. It is about Carpe Diem. There is no other time than the now. Watching the athletes, that message hits home.

Olympic Time is Full of Possibilities
What can happen in a 1/200^th of a second is the difference between a medal winner and not. All the possibilities that can unfold within twenty seconds seem infinite. Can you imagine if we all lived our lives like that? To be aware constantly of how small changes in our mental attitudes can affect the task we are focusing on? How much determination would this take? 

Olympic Athletes are Amazing
They're dreamers who realize their dreams. They’re passionate about their sport and their lives. They are role models and should be allowed to let their hair down once the pressure has eased. I was and am inspired by them, as I imagine we all are.

Corporations Love Athletes
Athletes are instant celebrities and lets face it, they help companies sell stuff. The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games resulted in new national heroes and their faces are already up on billboards for everything from housing developments to cell phones and clothing.

Thanks to the Cultural Olympiad, Vancouver Now Has a Legacy of Incredible Public Art
Yes, this may have also been partially sponsored by corporations, but now the city does have some amazing art gracing the city squares, plazas, and sidewalks. I hung out with stilt walkers and dancers costumed in ethereal Victorianesque hoop skirts fashioned out of tarp and recycled landscaping fabric. I caught a Neil Young Tribute Concert and one of the best modern dance performances I’ve seen anywhere by Canada’s own dancers Crystal Pite as well as just watched children interacting with three dimensional art scapes.

The post Game Street Party Begins to Get Old
How many nights of drunk, jubilant crowds did we see in Vancouver? Even the rain didn’t dampen their spirits. The police tried closing liquor stores early on weekends, but the massive street parties continued. Can we say enough, already?

The City of Vancouver Wins a Gold Medal for Public Transit To and From the Games
Plus, there was the added bonus that if you did have to drive, the roads were eerily traffic free. 

Hockey Can Steal Your Heart
Even when you’re not a hockey fan. It’s fast, furious, gutsy, and over the past week it united this hockey-mad nation. To all the Americans out there, Canadians are way more hockey-mad than you. So you can just imagine how much that gold medal meant to us. From reports of streets being closed in Toronto and Halifax to Canadian troops in Kandahar cheering, it was as if Canada came together for a few moments. For a country that’s normally sweetly calm, the passion was unprecedented. 

Stilt performer from Public Dreams at Yaletown Live Site

The Olympic flame on its last day

Part of the Cultural Olympiad at A&B Sound

Olympic and Canadian flags in Whistler

Rally at the Olympic tent village on Wednesday

A sticker photographed in the Downtown Eastside