Well, I’ve got to say that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics surprised me. Going into to them I really didn’t think that they would keep my attention at all, and frankly I wasn’t too interested. To my view, we (the public) were sold a bill of goods regarding how much this was going to cost and what we’d get out of it. To this day I don’t believe that the Olympics are worth it from a financial standpoint and that politicians use deceptive means and disingenuous arguments to support bringing the games to their cities. Call me cynical (which I am)… I view the Olympics as another example of corruption in our “Democracy”.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest… I found myself curiously drawn-in to the spirit of the event. I found the opening ceremonies quite well done. They demonstrated the pride we Canadians feel for our country quite expressively while not crossing the oh-so-thin line into “We are better than you!”. What I can’t stand is state demonstrations of power, and this was not that at all.

I found the gesture of acknowledging the 4 First Nations’ Leaders as Heads of State quite symbolic and refreshing (and HOPE that that sentiment can be carried forward into practice). Having the Native Peoples greet the world to our nation was uplifting for me and I found it was done without prejudice or stereotype.

The further art pieces meshed quite well, giving a both historical AND contemporary feel to the event. I personally enjoyed the performances by Sarah McLachlan, Ashley MacIsaac and Shane Koyczan.

There seems to be some debate as to the propriety of Nikki Yanofsky’s rendition of our national anthem. Some felt that because we couldn’t sing along it was inappropriate. I say BOLLOCKS to that! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

From a technical standpoint I think they did some very good work. The great Native statues really blew me away when they came out of the stage. The projections effects really provided a seamless experience for me. Especially when you had the Native man in the centre hitting the floor with his walking stick, and having the energy-ripple flow outward. Symbolically VERY impressive for me. The aerial work for the prairie piece was beautiful. And then there is the cauldron…

Ah the cauldron! You know what… I think it worked out perfectly! Conceptually it was excellent! Did one tower fail to rise… yes… was it a bit disappointing… at the time yes. Did they save the situation… yes. I loved how they dealt with it in the closing ceremonies! Not ignoring what happened but embracing it was the best thing they could have done. When Christine and I where watching, at first we couldn’t understand WHY the cauldron was not lit. We quickly understood why and thought it was thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

Now, the “We’re Canadian Let’s Lay It On Thick!” performance with Michael Buble… I’m still digesting it! Actually I liked it. They really did lay it on thick though! LOL What else can I say, it was just… WOW.

I was very pleased to see what we managed to achieve with the medal count. After the first week there were some serious concerns. But after everything is said and done we set a new record for gold medals and beat our Turin total. Close enough to “Own the Podium” for me. I generally view this as a great success for our athletes. Besides, what a thrilling way to get the 14th and record breaking gold medal: Hockey, Canada vs. US, US comes back from a 2 goal deficit with 24 seconds to go to force the extra frame… and Sidney Crosby converts a Jarome Iginla hard-fought pass into a 5-hole stunner FOR THE WIN! Hockey doesn’t get more exciting than that folks! That… was… AWESOME!

All in all this Olympics was a heart warming part of our history for me…

… now comes the bill and that’s going to be interesting. I can’t wait to see how that is spun by our intrepid leadership.

Cheers