Vancouver 2010

A wonderful experience

The Olympics were finally terminated with a worth watching closing ceremony, in a pleasant evening at the Vancouver BC stadium. All eyes were on the last event of the winter games which no doubt meant a lot for the Canadians. Ice hockey is the all time favorite sport for majority of the population. Their victory in the finals against rivals USA was a huge satisfaction to the fans. The Canadian team picked up speed and momentum in the early minutes threatening the American defense more than once. The first close call could was although for the Americans. The fans in red shuddered as we could see the puck slipping under the pads of the Canadian goaltender Luongo. Luck was definitely on their side since the puck stopped a few centimeters before the goal-line!
It was on the closing of the 12th minute that the home side brought themselves to the lead with Toews, who put the disc in the back of the net after USA’s goaltender Miller had blocked a cracker by Richards. With Luongo at his best and the teams will for glory, not even the dangerous attacking line up of the Americans stopped them from putting home the second of the game. Vancouver place was on fire. The echoes were getting louder and clearer as the crowd sang the “Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da” encore. The Americans gave in a great fight, this definitely is what a grand final looks like and we saw ice-hockey at its best ladies and gentlemen.
The flow of the game changed all of a sudden. This is ice-hockey after all and who knows what 12 players after a puck looking for glory looks like, does not need further explanation to what can happen in an ice-hockey game.
The American show took over. A goal before the ending of the second period and the equalizer on the 59th minute of the 3rd period from Kesler and Parise respectively, momentarily crushed the joy of the Canadians. With hope and courage lurking in the mind, a fear of a possible defeat was crawling in. It was a tense moment for both sides. The fans were watching every moment of the game without beating an eyelid. The game came to an abrupt halt 7 minutes into sudden-death overtime, when Crosby struck the final shot of the game through Miller’s legs. 3-2 the final score which brought Canada’s 8th gold. The all time favorite sport in Canada saw both the men’s and the women’s team as champions beating rivals USA in the finals.

This will remain in the history of the Canadian sport and the achievements they well deserved will shine forever. What could be better than a proud placed 1st position in the Olympic world medal rankings 2010. Canada is a country where sport is given great importance and the results surely have not let them down. If we analyze every success, we can all agree to the fact that most of the athletes who won were not experienced or favorites for the title. Definitely they did have a favor of competing on their home soil, but that is not the reason of their perfection. With tension to the maximum these athletes gave and took out their best performances and I can assure you, since I was a witness of these events that the encouragement given by the supporters was just fabulous. Only those who did go and see the Olympics could understand the energy brought out from this fantastic event. It looked as though every individual, every Canadian was participating in the Olympics. They knew that making an effort could contribute, for a greater good. There was great enthusiasm in the streets from early morning till late in the night. Everyone was proudly wearing their Canadian colors, the city was crawling with Canadian flags and not an instance, could you not here the chanting, “Go Canada!”

Everyone was given a possibility to see the events. Bars, restaurants, hotels, shops and even the banks had TVs that were projecting the Olympic Games. In the heart of the city, there were loads and loads of people who assisted to all the events from morning till nightfall through city-provided television screens in the important squares of Vancouver city. What a city, I repeat, what a city, this really is the best city that could ever hold an Olympics. With all the wonderful experiences countries hosting the Olympics like China, USA etc had, Vancouver in my point of view is right up there, right up the ladder. Even though Vancouver is not used to accommodate such a large number of people at the same time, the well organized structures, social help and transportation was more than satisfying. Another point on their favor is the location. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the lovely Rockies on the other, with a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and the people proud to be hosting the Olympics, is what I could define as the best Olympics ever held. If someone is uncertain of going to Vancouver be it for study, work or holiday, if my opinion could comfort you, I certainly hope to convince by saying YOU MUST GO!