Overtime, Overjoyed, Overtired!

Did you see the men’s final hockey game at the Olympics in Vancouver? Wasn’t that exciting? We were there, up in the last row, against the wall at about centre ice. We barely sat down the whole game. We screamed ourselves hoarse. We cheered when the Canadians scored early and then doubled it up midway through the game. We groaned when the Americans scored and then cried when they tied up the game with a mere 20 seconds left in the third period.

Then, our voices joined millions of others across Canada, wildly and joyously celebrating our 3-2 victory in overtime. There was more “wild” and “joyous” at the events and at post-event all-night parties than I’ve ever seen in my life. The streets of downtown Vancouver were jammed with people cheering, singing and screaming the entire time we were there. It was all in good fun; even the firemen, whose trucks were parked strategically across several streets to help with traffic and people flow, were honking passionately.

I’m so glad that we got to be there in Vancouver for the last five days of this worldwide celebration of sports. As a Canadian who has lived abroad for the past three years, I was anxious to see how my fellow countrymen would manage. I felt a bit like a parent who has come to visit her grown-up child. That child – Canada – is now an independent adult – of me and like me, but separate all the same. I accept its faults, I revel in its complexity, I cry for its beauty, and I am in awe of what it has become. Mostly, though, I am thankful that I am part of it at all.

The host city did a wonderful job and there were so many volunteers, they were practically falling over each other to help fans at the events! What better city to welcome visitors from around the world than one which is already so international itself? Day after day, I looked around at the myriad of faces in the streets and in the stands, and I soaked up the multi-ethnicity of that beautiful city. I was thirsty for it; the ease with which people from so many different places live and play together in effortless harmony.

For the first week and a half of the Olympics, NBC was our window into that exciting world, as we watched the competitions on television from our home in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. NBC introduced the Games with a beautiful piece about the lengthy friendship between the U.S. and its northern neighbour, including visuals of Vancouver and its majestic mountains, and footage of world and regional wars the two countries have fought and continue to fight side-by-side. I hope Canadians get a chance to see it; it will make my apologetic and sometimes insecure compatriots realise how much we are valued by our southern friends.

NBC’s coverage and commentary was fabulous – interesting and entertaining, although they were resoundingly criticized here for tape-delaying the first Canada-U.S. hockey game! I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of exposure given to Canadians and other countries in competition, including the fascinating profiles of various athletes between events and during re-runs. Still, though, I have to admit that I was thrilled to get to Canada and watch non-stop Canadian interviews, footage and celebrations in both English and French. When Canadians weren’t competing, they just showed re-runs of the Canadian curling teams!

Curling isn’t that popular here in the U.S., although NBC showed a ton of it during the Games. Before I left for Vancouver, my book club friends here in St. Louis asked me what the “older people throwing big stones down the ice” are doing. However, my neighbour here claims that there’s a real spike in interest in curling and predicts the sport will take off (eh?) in the U.S! Was it the Norwegian curling pants – grey and red argyle-inspired diamonds? Was it the gorgeous faces and impeccable hair of the Swiss men’s and Swedish women’s teams? Was it the happy, young faces of the Chinese bronze medalists? Was it the seriousness with which the rocks were thrown? Was it the fact that they made sweeping look fun – like a sport, rather than a chore?

You certainly couldn’t blame the unmasked joy on the faces of the curling medal winners for the increase in interest in the game, for that was common to every sport. You couldn’t help but be happy for all of the athletes and, particularly, the medal winners at the end of a winning race, as they embraced their families and friends, and as they stepped onto the podium with shaking hands and a look of disbelief. They certainly adhered to the Olympic motto: “Faster! Higher! Stronger!”

My son couldn’t tear himself from the speed skating, so we were very lucky to have had a chance to see the short-track and a relay live in Vancouver. For him, the race, with its speed and intensity, is mesmerizing and he is desperate to learn how to do it. He warned me that I should be prepared to see him at the 2018 Games! I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he’s never been on skates before.

I guess that’s the Olympic dream!