Crushin' The Russians! Canada 7 - Russia 3!

Wow. I'm finally calmed down enough to write about the Canada v.Russia game last night. It was absolutely the most amazing sports experience of my life. My voice is gone from screaming and cheering and my ears were still ringing this morning from the incredible noise at GM Place.

As a Canadian, I've grown up hating the Russians for claiming supremacy in "OUR" game. Challenging the Russians at hockey is part of what defines us as a nation. And not only did we beat them, we annihilated them. Crushed them. Obliterated them. Dominated them. Embarrassed them. Kicked the crap out of them. It wasn't even close, not for a moment. By the third period the Russian players were dancing around away from the boards they were so tired of getting crushed by our players.

For me, this was perhaps sweeter than winning the gold medal is going to be on Sunday. When I've watched Team Canada play on TV, I've always wondered how exciting it would be to actually be at a big game like this...and it was more incredible than I ever imagined. The energy, the buzz, the ecstasy when Getzlaf first scored.

As the crowd started to head for the exits after the game I noticed a young Russian woman sitting in her seat with tears streaming down her face. It is exactly how I would have felt if the score was the other way around.



Go Canada Go!!!



Judie and I looking tense before the puck drops...I was even more nervous than I look!



Santa drove all the way from the North Pole to give us all an early Christmas present



The crowd



The puck drops!



The crowd erupts after Getzlaf scores to make it 1-0 at 2:21 of the first period!



Rick Nash made it 3-0 and the crowd was giddy with excitement!



No one could believe we were up 4-1 against powerhouse Russia at the end of the first period!!!



We want gold!



The amazing destruction of Russia is comlete!



Team Canada thanks the Ruskies for coming out to play OUR game!!!



The crowd applauds the boys for a job well done

The game against Slovakia will not be easy...I've seen them play and they are the real deal. But if Canada plays with the heart and intensity they played with against Russia, Slovakia and the then the gold medal should be OURS!!! I'm going to the bronze medal game with Ken...I'm hoping to cheer on Slovakia against Team USA!!!

Go Canada Go!!!

Outstanding, Joannie Rochette

Congrats to the courageous Joannie Rochette, skating her heart out to a bronze medal in figure skating tonight for Canada, only days after her mother suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack on her way to see her daughter perform at the Olympics. Amazing character, a true Canadian hero.

Do Or Die Time ... Canada v. Russia Today at 4:30 PM

Team Canada takes on the vodka-swilling-potato-eating-red-army-wanna-be-Russian-to-YVR-for-their-flight-home-without-a-medal bastards today at 4:30 PM. Judie and I are going to the game but I don't know if my heart can take the excitement. I thought I'd post ahead of the game because afterwards I plan to be drunk...hopefully due to the party that will ensue around Vancouver when we win!

I didn't take these pictures, but they're nice, especially the night shot of downtown. Hey, this is our city, beautiful, isn't it?

Meet The Macots At Robson Square

Brooklyn loved the Meet the Mascots show on ice at Robson Square.

Miga



Quatchi

Devo Rocks Whistler!

Devo - Uncontrollable Urge

Justin's Inukshuk

The boys build an Inukshuk at school today...

More Olympics

Holding the torch, the flame, the rings...

Container Inukshuk

Hey, it's what we do. Even grizzly old waterfront types can get excited about the games, replicating the Vancouver 2010 Inukshuk symbol with a handful of 20 and 40 footers!

Around Town, Olympic Style

Wow, what a fantastic day! I have never seen the sun shine on Vancouver in February the way it shone today! I decided to take the day off to partake in the Olympic sized party that has overtaken our city!

Brooklyn sporting Canada tattoos on her cheeks!

Brooklyn and I outside Canada Hockey Place

Brooklyn and Judie at the incredible 4D film at Ontario House. I got splashed by Niagara falls and sprayed with snow from a toboggan!

Brooklyn with a real Canadian hockey giant!

Brooklyn and Judie in front of the Molson Canadian hockey tent...basically a gigantic beer garden with massive screens to watch the hockey game

Brooklyn and I bobsledding with the mascots!



Ditto!

Brooks perched on my shoulders to see the mascots at Robson Square

Quatchi plays hockey

Sumi on ice

The crowd in front of BC House

Ziplining right over Robson Square!

I know we're not typically known for our displays of Nationalism, but the entire city is decked out in red and white. I'm flying a Canadian flag at the house for the first time in my life...something a lot of Vancouverites are also doing for the first time. Go, Canada!

That was a nailbiter against the Swiss tonight...only winning in a shoot out. Yikes! We won thanks to the supersonic Nova Scotian goal scorer, Sidney Crosby! Whoohoo!

Game 1 - Norway

The fans in red, white and black.

Face off!.

Action in the Norwegian end.

Canada wins 8-0!

Team Canada congratulates Luongo.

Whew, what a game. It was supposed to be easy, and in the end the score was 8-0, but I have to say the crowd was feeling nervous after 20 minutes without any goals by Team Canada. I was sitting with my Norwegian bankers and they were pretty happy after the first period. But once Iginla scored, the floodgates opened and the game was no contest.

On the way in, there were dozens of anti-Norway protesters pestering my hosts. What, you say? What did Norway ever do to us? Well, apparently 92% of BC fish farms are owned by Norwegians (something I didn't know) and fish farms are purportedly bad for wild salmon. Who knew?

The entire crowd was decked out in Team Canada red, white and black, and the city erupted in delight after the game. The streets downtown were filled, as if the Canucks had won the Stanley Cup. It was only Norway, people, get a grip! Anyway, I have to say it was amazing to see the Canadian NHL stars competing for our country! Go, Canada!

In related news, I've been hearing numerous stories about establishments running out of beer! There are still 1 1/2 weeks to go! Get brewing!

Canada Wins Gold!

Alexandre Bilodeau of Quebec won the gold medal in the men's moguls - Canada's first ever gold medal on home soil...33 years and 7 months after the Summer Olympic cauldron was first lit on Canadian soil in Montreal!!! Jenn Heil from Alberta should have claimed the honour, but she ended up with a silver medal finish in ladies' moguls last night.

The sun came out on Sunday and it was about 15 degrees celsius and downtown was PACKED with people. I have never seen so many people in Vancouver in my 16 years here. A fun atmosphere but the result was huge lines everywhere, especially Canada House, pictured above.

As for the kids, they weren't happy until they got a free CBC / Canada flag Sheesh, it doesn't take much to put a spring in their step! I included a couple of pictures to demonstrate why I haven't been posting many pictures of the kids. Look at these two twerps! My beautiful daughter looks like she 's on her way to an Ozzy Osborne concert and Quatchi the Sasquath is more handsome than my son!

Taking In The Games

Judie and Justin took Harmoni and Haraboji to see the men's 5,000 meter speed skating today at the Richmond Oval. It was the first Olympic event for any of them...and hey, that little seven year old pipsqueak of a son of mine got to go instead of me!

Lee Seung-Hoon from South Korea captured the silver medal, to the delight of my inlaws, who cheered him on to an unexpected second place finish.

The gold went to Sven Kramer of the Netherlands. Hmmm, apparently getting gold wasn't good enough for his coach, who felt a need to roger the poor boy in public...maybe since he didn't break a record or something. Those Dutch take their speed skating seriously! Don't bend, Sven!!!

Go Canada Go!

No Canadian has ever won gold on Canadian soil...until the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, when all that's gonna change, baby! The opening ceremony is only hours away, and the kids were out to cheer on the torch bearer on his way to the stadium!

It has been a long wait, a lot of construction nightmares, a ton of dumbass protests, constant messages about traffic congestion, parking restrictions, lineups, ticket scams, and criticisms that Vancouverites care more about the Canucks than the Olympics (well, there may be something to that), but it seems to me that finally the city has got Olympic fever!

Go Canada Go! WHOOHOO!

Deutsche Haus

The games begin tomorrow, but the beer at Deutsche Haus started flowing at 10 AM today. Seeing that it is set up right below our office windows, and they've been disturbing us with their sound checks, we decided we would be the first in line for a German brew. Kerry and I had the first and second beers pulled, and they were delicious!

We even made it to the German Fan Fest website!!!

http://www.germanfanfest.de/cms/front_content.php?idcat=49

(see image 17)

Flaming Sushi

When you dine at the world famous Tojo's restaurant in Vancouver, you expect to sit beside Morgan Freeman or Arnie, or some other Hollywood actor who's in town to shoot a film. But tonight I sat beside not a famous who but a famous what. The Olympic Torch was there with a group of Japanese Canadians and I sat next to it! Alas, I didn't have a camera to capture the moment.

You know, it does sort of look like a joint. How fitting for Vancouver!

Red Hoodie Frenzy

With the Olympics just days away, the hottest item in town has got to be the red full zip Canada hoodies at the Bay. There isn't a men's hoodie to be had this side of the Rockies, and today when I was there a full on feeding frenzy was in motion! An employee wheeled out a rack of fresh red hoodies and a dozen men swarmed him. It was like a sale on women's shoes at Barneys or something. Alas, every hoodie on the rack was XXL. I think the Bay misjudged what was going to sell - they can't keep Canada stuff on the shelves while all the Vancouver 2010 Olympics stuff is gathering dust.

My first ever Olympic event is on February 16th. Den Norske Bank invited me to the Canada - Norway men's hockey game! I'm very excited, even though I'll be sitting with the Norwegians. We also have the quarter final game that Canada will play in, assuming they're in...which they better be!!! Ken and I will be going to the bronze medal game, hopefully to cheer on the US v. Russia or Sweden. Alas, I didn't get the gold medal game.

On a related note, Deutsche Haus is right across the street from my office, and they set up a massive beer garden tent in the parking lot right below my window! Looks like it's oompah music for the next two weeks!

UPDATE: On Tuesday I went to the Bay at 9 AM, when the doors opened. There were about 30 people waiting outside. Lo and behold, there were two full racks of men's red hoodies. One rack was all XXL, but the other rack had M and L. I grabbed one and went straight for the cash registers. By 9:05, they were GONE. Every single one. As were all the white ladies ones they had put out. I overheard an employee telling a man that if he wanted one, he'd have to be at the store first thing in the morning. The man said, incredulously, "But you've only been open for 5 minutes!". I should have grabbed them all and sold them for $200 on the sidewalk. Anyway, I have MY red hoodie, WHOOHOO! Do you have yours?