Ed and I went to see mens’ curling on Feb 19. We both took the day off work because the event started at 2:00pm. There were four games going on at the same time - Germany vs Switzerland, Denmark vs Canada, France vs USA, and Norway vs China. With four simultaneous games, I actually found it hard to focus on anything. Too much stuff going on. Ed told me to just watch the Denmark/Canada game but I felt I was missing out on the other games. Denmark made a major mistake in the 4th end which game Canada a big 7-2 lead. Canada scored 3 more points in the 6th end. That finished up the game with the score of 10-3 for Canada. Interestingly, I found it a lot easier to watch three simultaneous games. Who knew one game would make such a difference. Anyway, the three remaining games were all nail-biters, with the outcome coming down to the last rock in the last end. Switzerland had a chance to tie with the last throw but the rock came up just a little short of the target. And the USA skip threw a brilliant last rock to score 1 point and win the game. All very entertaining games!
The highlights include the pants of the Norway team. They look like jesters! And the Swiss contingent in the stands with their big (and loud) cow bells.
Figure skating practice session, Day 9
Yvette and I were back at the Pacific Coliseum. This time around, the women skaters and the pairs ice dancers were practicing. The women were on first and we were excited to see Yu-na Kim from Korea and Joannie Rochette from Canada. They didn’t disappoint. They were both really good. Yvette explained the different jumps to me and how to spot which was which, but it went over my head. I know there are toe jumps and there are edge jumps. But to spot a toe loop from a lutz from a flip, well, I’ll leave that to Yvette.
I took a video of Yu-na Kim practicing her program.
The ice dancing pairs went out next and it was like a dress rehearsal. The women skaters wore work-out clothes but the ice dancers were in their full costume, complete with make-up and hair-do. It was entertaining to see all the blingy and the weird-looking costumes. Unfortunately, the skaters came out according to the standings from the compulsary dance, from lowest to highest, and we didn’t get to see Moir and Virtue from Canada. The actual practice session went on past 1pm but the audience was kicked out of the Coliseum at that time. Boo!
Victory Ceremony, Day 9
I went home to nap, then it was go-go-go again. We were heading downtown for that day’s Victory Cermony at BC Place. We parked the car at Navarik (just a short walk away) and walked along the sea wall to BC Place. Our seats sucked but the usher said we can move to better seats once the ceremony started. There were no medal events that day in Vancouver but there were a few in Whistler. We watched the video feed from Whistler and celebrated as Jon Montgomery of Canada got his gold medal for men’s skeleton. After the medals were handed out, Stereophonics put on a show for about an hour. I wasn’t familiar with their music but I liked what I heard. They rocked it and it was a good show!
Victory Ceremony, Day 10
The next evening, Ed and I were back at BC Place for another Victory Ceremony. We were pros at this now and we knew that we can pretty much just sit anywhere. So we picked our seats and hoped that nobody would come later to claim it. Thankfully, no one did! This evening, there were medal events in Cypress and Vancouver and we got to see it live. Vancouver and Whistler alternated handing out medals. I forget which events had medals handed out in Whistler but I do remember Bode Miller from the US getting a bronze medal for something. In Vancouver, medals were handed out to the winners of the 1500m men’s long track speed skating, 1500m women’s short track, 1000m men’s short track, and the men’s ski cross. It was very cool to see these athletes get their medals, their faces just beaming with pride and happiness. It didn’t matter which country they were from, I couldn’t help but feel so happy for them for winning an Olympic medal.
After the medal ceremonies were done, it was time to rock on. Trooper and Loverboy each played for 45 mins each. They may be older but these guys can still deliver a good show. Both bands sounded great. People were on their feet, dancing and singing along. We had a great time!
I took a video of Loverboy belting out "Turn Me Loose".
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