Blog #2: The Olympic Victory

It's obvious that if you ask any Canadian, any Vancouverite, what the most memorable moment was during the 2010 Olympics, they would say with conviction that it was the overtime goal by Sidney Crosby during the Men's Finals in Ice Hockey.  Yes, what a goal it was indeed.  I was watching the game from my friend's house with him and another friend of mine.  Initially, the plan was to watch the game with them and then to head home for a quiet night of studying before school the next day.  Little did I realize how contagious an Olympic victory can be.  The moment we won that game, my two friends cheered and demanded that we go downtown to celebrate with the rest of the city.  The moment they cheered; I cheered.  The moment they asked; I immediately abandoned any notion of prudence.  We were on our way on transit in ten minutes.  I was swept up by an overwhelming urge to have a great time.  That's the potency of an Olympic celebration, it seems. I gave high-fives to at least one hundred strangers within the span of two hours. I started cheers of "Ca-na-da" and watched as they were carried away down the corridors of Granville skytrain station.  I lost myself in the crowds and crowds of people who, perhaps for the only time in their lives, would ever reveal any hint of patriotism.  It was infectious and I loved it.  It strange how, leading up to the Games, we all had at least the smallest worry hanging over our heads.  Some were concerned with the lack of powder on the mountain tops.  Others were already complaining about how bad transit would be, even a week before the first event took place.  Affordable housing was, and still is, an ongoing issue in the city.  But hate the mega-event or not, no one complained when that puck slid past Ryan Miller in that final game.  Everyone was caught up in the glory of our country and our city.  Everyone was proud to be Canadian.  The Olympics had come, but before it disappeared, it made sure to leave at least one purely amazing experience in the minds of every spectator.  Now that it's gone, it's back to my normal routine.  I can go ahead and analyze and criticize the Games as much as possible, if I wanted to.  But the Olympics had done its damage in one evening, proving to everyone that it really wasn't all that bad.