The Flame Goes Out

When I went to 7-11 early this morning I noticed that the local neighbourhood was dressed up even more than it has been. Canadian flags now adorned the light standards on 41st Street in addition to the Olympic banners. The veterinary clinic had a hockey stick flying a Canadian flag above its sign. There were even more maple leaf and Team Canada car flags than I've seen in the past in the neighbourhood. And the Kerrisdale Lumber store had put up a huge Go Canada Go banner on their fence. Canada was getting ready for THE GAME.

Late this morning I took Leena to the airport to fly back to Kelowna. The local radio had reported long lineups at the airport but outside the terminal things seemed normal. They are expecting their busiest day ever on Monday. They have built a temporary terminal just for Monday and the SkyTrain to the airport is operating all night tonight.

Of course I had to get back into my volunteer uniform again after almost a week. I didn't realize until I was walking to the bus how much I had missed it. In was back in the saddle again.

The complicating factor for today was the men's gold medal hockey game starting at 12:15 pm PT. My shift in the Venue Communications Centre (VCC) didn't start until 3 pm but rather than commuting near the end of the big hockey game I headed off downtown as soon as I returned from the airport. I'd miss a little of the beginning of the game but I wanted to be there for the ending.

I watched the first period on the street in Yaletown. The LiveCity Yaletown site was getting full and the lineup was too long for the time I had available so I watched a large screen that had been set up on the street for folks in line. There were about a hundred people doing the same thing. There was a great cheer and lots of car horns when Canada scored first. 

During the first intermission I walked over to Concord Place. As I walked through Yaletown, the streets were quieter than I have seen them since the Games began but I could hear the hockey game broadcast on the street coming from shops, bars, and homes.

I watched the second period on the large screens outside Molson Canadian Hockey House. There were lots of rabid hockey fans there.

They were a pretty well-dressed bunch. We watched excitedly as Canada scored again, and anxiously as the U.S. scored.

For the third period I decided to check-in and watch in the break room at the Plaza of Nations building where the VCC is located. (My favorite lady at Workforce Check-in welcomed me by name and wished me well on my last day.)

These types of important, close hockey games drive me crazy. I just can't watch. It was a very anxious time as I watched with a few of my colleagues and an assortment of other volunteers, security staff, and law enforcement officers from across the country.

If you don't live in Canada you won't understand what it would have meant for Canada to have lost the game today. Despite all our other successes as a nation at the Games, the memory would be tarnished because of men's hockey. The post-Games analysis on what went wrong would go on for ever and be a psychiatrists worst nightmare.

When the U.S. scored in the last minute of the third period to tie it up all the oxygen left the room. The national angst started. We tried to keep ourselves occupied during the intermission but it was no use--everyone was having doubts that we could do it after the way the Canadians played during the third period.

Of course when Sidney Crosby scored in overtime, the room and building erupted. There was hugging, high fives, screaming and a giddy look on everyone's face. I can take credit for the win as I had in my backpack the Canadian flag that we took to the short-track speed skating last Friday when it helped Canada win two golds. It was obviously the difference in overtime although Crosby will take credit.

The timing of the win was perfect as it was time to start my shift. We started the shift by watching the medal ceremony. Everyone stood up and sang O Canada when the flag was raised.

We had lots of volunteers in the VCC today for the Closing Ceremonies. The first shift said that things had been steady.

Of course the hockey game was causing problems on venue.There were workers who were late or absent because of the game. The spectators for the Closing Ceremonies arrived late as they stayed home or elsewhere to watch the game. (This despite the fact that VANOC opened the doors early and showed the game on the screens in the Stadium.) Canada Hockey Place was egressing late which caused issues for the ingress into the Stadium. As there were lots of VIPs at the game who would also be attending the closing, they were late moving between the venues.

It was pretty steady for the hours before the Closing Ceremonies and the first hour of the ceremony. We had our usual issues to help with:

• Intoxicated spectators (likely coming from the hockey game).
• Two pregnant ladies requiring a trip to the hospital at the same time.
• Protein spills (I'll let you figure out what that is the code phrase for. Think about what happens when people drink too much.)
• Lights not working.
• Buses needing to move from point A to point B.
• Thousands of athletes to move from the village and get staged for the ceremony.

We watched the Olympic Broadcasting System feed for the Closing Ceremonies which had no commercials and no announcers. I didn't get to see as much of the ceremony as I had hoped as people kept talking on the radios. You would think that they would know that we were trying to watch.

After the sadness of the flame going out we needed to deploy some people into the stadium to help with the movement of people. I was assigned to one of the athletes' sections to help guide them onto the floor and to keep other spectators off of the floor. I saw the last half hour or so of the ceremony in person. I also managed to secure one of the spectator kits and the cool program for the ceremony.

By the end of the evening things got quiet again in the VCC. We cleaned up the room as it would be unused for a while until the Opening Ceremonies for the Paralympic Games.

After the spectators had left the Stadium, they kept some of the Olympic souvenir stands open for volunteers to go back and shop at 50% off. While I was there I poked my head into the bowl. It was like the end of a good party; all that was left was the massive cleanup.

As we left the VCC for the last time I debated walking downtown. I could hear the noise and knew how wild it would be after the end of the Games and the hockey win. I decided I could pass. The past few weeks have been pretty tiring and I wanted to get home and write this post.

So the Games are over and my Olympic Experience has come to an end. I am going to spend the day on Monday cleaning the house and packing. I will then drive back to Kelowna during the daylight hours on Tuesday. I don't think any of that warrants a blog posting so tonight will be my closing ceremonies as well. (I promise no beavers or moose.)

After watching many Olympic Games on TV in my lifetime, I will never be able to watch one again the same way after attending events and working behind the scenes. It has definitely whet my appetite to do it again someday.

Some memories and observations:

• The friendliness of everyone in Vancouver. (If you want another opinion, read this review from the Los Angeles Times.) 

• The incredible display of Canadian nationalism. It is not something we normally do except perhaps on Canada Day. Canadian flags were everywhere: shops, condo balconies, cars, cheeks, clothing.

• I fell in love with Vancouver. The style of the city, its people, their spirit, its walkability, the beauty and the weather.

• Spontaneous singing of O Canada on the SkyTrain.

• The incredible spectacle of the Opening Ceremonies. I still can't believe I was there.

• I have been so impressed by VANOC for the training, gifts, teamwork, logistics, responsiveness, sense of humor, talent.

• The Smurfs (volunteers): both the wonderfully memorable relationships developed over four weeks with my managers and colleagues and the service with a smile by all the others I encountered and with whom I interacted.

• The spirit of the people on the street characterized by the red mittens worn by everyone--from the average hockey guy to well-dressed businesswomen. Everyone wanted to be a part of the Games and show their support.

• Once the games began I wanted to be at events. You will have to tell me how the TV coverage was; I saw very little except the late night news.

• An umbrella is an indispensable item in Vancouver. The standard issue of clothing in Kelowna is the fleece vest. In Vancouver it is the GoreTex waterproof jacket with a hood.

• Perhaps the world has learned a bit more about our vast country. I know we educated our Boston-based manager in the VCC. (Example from tonight: "Neil Young is a Canadian?" he asked.)

• I learned that the Olympics is far more than just a set of sporting events and ceremonies. The other attractions--mostly free--have been a marvelous treat.

For me this has been an experience on many levels: worker, spectator, guide, storyteller, husband, Canadian, host. I have sincerely appreciated the feedback in the blog comments and the e-mails I have received. Writing this blog has greatly enhanced my experience as I found myself observing things in a different way, keeping notes during the day on my BlackBerry, and considering different ways to tell a story. It drove me to see and do more than I would likely have done without an engaged audience. I am astounded by the fact that over 900 different people read this blog at least once.

Finally, there are some people I need to thank.

Thank you to my colleagues at XAP for supporting me, filling in for me, and letting me escape for an amazing month. 

And thank you to the love of my life for letting me have this dream, plan for it for almost two years, leave home to have fun on my own, and for coming for the last week to share the incredible experience with me. She shares my belief that these are the kinds of experiences that we need to enrich our lives.

I feel a personal sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that I have played a very small part in bringing the Olympics to the World ... to Canada ... to Vancouver ... and to you.

Until next time. 

Penultimate Day

We enjoyed a slow start to the day other than having to get up at a decent time to write the blog entry that I was too tired to write the night before. We hung around the house to say good-bye to Leena's sister and her husband who were flying back to Toronto today. While we were at the house Canada won two surprise gold medals in skating pursuit and snowboard parallel slalom.

With an extra bounce in our step from those exciting results, we were off again to Granville Island. 

While wandering around we encountered some giveaways at the House of Switzerland. They were giving out Ricola cough drops, some kind of Swiss biscuit, and Lindor chocolates. It turns out it was Lindor Day as the House of Switzerland.

Our main goal for the day was to see some of Atlantic Canada House. At the front entrance, an honest host of the House explained that the line for the upstairs exhibits really only led to a bunch of tourism information. A second line was for a lounge that had food tasting--but not for two hours. She explained that there was a musical show at 6 pm and the line for it had not yet started. We wandered around the market a bit to kill time until we could line up for the show.

If there is a skill that we have perfected at these Games (out of necessity) it is queuing. We have had to line up for most of the free attractions. Fortunately this one at Atlantic Canada House was only an hour and a half. And, as so often happened at these Games, we met interesting new people in line and had engaging conversations while we were waiting.

We also monitored the gold medal men's curling game through the windows of the lounge across the walkway from our queue. Once again the area erupted in applause and cheers when the Canadian team won the gold. It was our 13th gold medal.

Since shortly after Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Games in 2003, Canada has had an athlete assistance and sport research program in place called "Own the Podium." The goal of the program was to win the most medals at the 2010 Games. It was a lofty goal and even before the Games, some people ridiculed the idea although Sports Illustrated bought into it. 

Well it turns out the goal was just slightly misunderstood. Canada's goal was not to own all of the podium; just the centre. Canada will now finish these games with more gold medals than any other country. There are a few of us who think that is a truly amazing accomplishment for our country.

Back at Atlantic Canada House, we thoroughly enjoyed a show called "Come On In." It was a review by four young artists from Atlantic Canada--one from each of the provinces. The performers hailed from Hunter River in Prince Edward Island, Cow Head in Newfoundland, Halifax in Nova Scotia, and Notre-Dame in New Brunswick.

They each performed a number written by themselves or other local artists and wrapped their performance around their stories including their families and their musical heritage. 

The performance included a kitchen party where they invited two members of the audience to learn how to play the spoons.

The backdrop for the show was a large projection screen that showed images from the performers' stories and beautiful scenery from the Atlantic provinces.

It was a wonderful show that took the audience into the homes of these people and conveyed the well-known hospitality, talent, and industriousness of the people of Atlantic Canada. We were fortunate to see the show as it was the last of 45 performances for the Olympics.

From Atlantic Canada House we moved on to the House of Switzerland. It was housed in a restaurant on Granville Island called Bridges. It is primarily a restaurant serving Swiss specialties and acts as a home base for the Swiss athletes, officials, and supporters.

They have redecorated Bridges with photos and images from Switzerland, including a red mountain goat mascot sporting a white cross like the Swiss flag.

The goat even appears on the roof among the fish that normally live at Bridges.

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is anchoring their Olympics broadcast from a temporary studio on the second floor terrace at Bridges.

After about an hour in line we were shown to a table in the restaurant.

I was wearing my Team 2010 t-shirt. A man stopped at our table and asked me where I bought it. He said he just loved it. I told him it was only available to volunteers.

While we ate, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation signal was being shown on the televisions around the restaurant. For a while we watched the bronze medal hockey game between Finland and Slovakia. Suddenly an announcer appeared beside the television near our table. He explained that some special guests were on their way. In our haste to celebrate Canada's gold medal win in curling, we had neglected to notice who had won the bronze medal. Of course it was our new friends the Swiss. The bronze medal winning team were on their way by boat down False Creek to the House of Switzerland.

The broadcast followed the announcer out to the dock outside the restaurant where he proceeded to whip the crowd outside and the patrons inside into a cheering frenzy as an Aquabus approached the dock. Alas, the boat was empty. 

The next time was luckier and the Swiss curling team emerged from an Aquabus sporting their new bronze medals around their necks. They proceeded to enter the House of Switzerland and paraded through the restaurant right beside our table. We had the opportunity to high five each of the members of the team. In the excitement and close quarters it was hard to greet them, give them a high five, and try to take pictures. The best I got was a headless shot of a bronze medalist and medal. 

The team proceeded into the next section of the restaurant where they were interviewed for Swiss TV. By now we felt like we really knew these guys. It was a bizarre, fun, and exciting event.

Later, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation showed a hilarious segment of bloopers from the Games. I hope the same footage makes it onto North American broadcasts.

After dinner we took the Aquabus from Granville Island back to Yaletown. (Full disclosure: This picture was taken earlier in the day. Despite what Stephen Colbert said, it does get dark at night in Vancouver.)

From the Aquabus we could see the Vectorial Elevation light show reflecting off the low clouds.

We had gone to Yaletown to see the fireworks at LiveCity Yaletown one last time. The free concert had already filled the venue to capacity so we waited on the seawall behind the venue for the fireworks. I don't think I have ever been as close to launching fireworks as we were tonight. They were launched from a barge in front of us in False Creek and from the ground behind the performance stage. Standing where we were, we could feel the power of the explosions. Some of the debris landed in the water just shy of the seawall. Despite the fear factor, it was a great show.

From Yaletown we walked across town to the waterfront. As we walked up Robson Street we could hear the roar of the partying crowd ahead so we took a detour around the noise.

At the waterfront we had one last look at the Olympic Cauldron before it is extinguished tomorrow night during the Closing Ceremonies. It will be a shame to see the end of the flame that was lit in Greece back in October and traveled across Canada for almost four months. 

Tomorrow is my birthday. I have spent some exciting birthdays being serenaded while standing on a table in a bar in Mexico, enjoying the desert climate in Phoenix, and being served breakfast on the beach in Maui. I am greatly looking forward to a thrilling day tomorrow. Not just for the same reason as most Canadians--the gold medal hockey game--but for my final day attending and contributing to these memorable Games.

Double Gold -- Live!

Thursday was such a busy, long and exhilarating day that we took advantage of the rain and no scheduled events on Friday morning to sleep in.

We met Leena's sister from Toronto for lunch at a local mall. After lunch we parked the car near our SkyTrain station and headed out in a different direction on the bus. At a different SkyTrain station on a different line VANOC was running express buses to the venue. Everything ran well for a Friday.

Friday evening we were at the Pacific Coliseum, the old home of the Vancouver Canucks before GM Place (Canada Hockey Place) was constructed. The Pacific Coliseum is the venue for figure skating and short-track speed skating. We were excited that we were going to see three short-track events: the men's 500 m, the women's 1,000 m, and the men's 5,000 m relay.

On the march from the bus to the Coliseum we passed an Event Services volunteer on a lifeguard chair. This set up has been part of crowd control at all venues. It has been my experience that the volunteers in the chair generally have a sense of humour and help entertain the crowd in addition to moving them in the right direction.

The chairs were made at a woodworking shop that was set up by VANOC and Rona (a Canadian home improvement store and a Games sponsor) for a few years before the Games. They took troubled kids in Vancouver and taught them valuable skills while building necessary items for the success of the Games such as these chairs and the podiums on which the medal winners stand. The changes in their lives that this program brought to these kids will be one of the legacies of the Games.

Once inside the Coliseum, we watched the warm-ups. During the 90 minutes before the start time, the athletes for each of the three events for the evening were given separate warm up times.

The old arena looked great decked out in its Vancouver 2010 signage, flags, and decor. 

We had good seats in an upper corner section. We have had aisle seats for all our events except when we had standing room "seats" in Whistler. I guess this was one of the benefits of having tickets from the original lottery pool. Leena, in her Team Canada jersey, is in her seat while I am across the arena on the concourse.

Judging by the cheering, the flags, and the clothing the crowd was predominantly Koreans, Chinese, Americans, and Canadians. 

These Korean fans seemed to be part of a group. They all arrived together and had a guy running around getting them all food, drinks, then souvenir merchandise while they stayed in their seats. Strangely, they all left before the medal ceremonies even though the Koreans won multiple medals (just not gold.) 

There were lots of empty seats for the preliminaries and quarter-final races, but all seats seemed to be filled for the finals. I guess there is a class of "fan" that can't be bothered with anything but the finals.

There was lots for the volunteers to do in grooming the ice after each race and laying out the track markers. This guy poured buckets of water on the corners after every race.

One Smurf was responsible for moving the skaters skate guards from one end of the rink where they entered to the other end where they exited.

There were plenty of media, press and photographers. This was just one of a few sections filled with photographers.

This all-white camera man perched himself in the middle of the ice for all the events other than the 5,000 m relay. He would have been risking his life to stay on the ice for that event.

Things proceeded at a good clip through preliminary races, quarter finals then finals of the men's 500 m and women's 1,000 m.

Of course while all this racing was going on Canada was playing Slovakia across town in men's hockey. Many of us were getting text message updates from friends and relatives but the guys sitting behind us actually had a portable TV that they used to watch for scoring.

My heart has a tough time watching short-track speed-skating on TV when the Canadians are racing. I was not sure how I could take live races particularly with the men's 500 m in which Canadian Charles Hamelin is the current world champion.

The crowd is asked for silence before the start of each race so that the skaters can hear the starting gun.

The men line up for the start of one of the preliminary men's 500 m races. Charles Hamelin, the eventual gold medalist is on the left.

The finish to the men's 500 m was a heart-stopper as two racers crashed on the final curve including the leader at the time. Charles prevailed and won the gold and Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay finished in third place. It was a crazy finish. I know my heart skipped a beat.

There was a huge ovation at the end of the race then the arena went quiet as the judges decisions on the race were awaited. It was an incredible outcome and it meant we would get another chance to sing O Canada.

After winning, Charles skated to the side to embrace his girlfriend, Marianne St-Gelais, a silver medalist for Canada.

The men's 5,000 m relay is a crazy event with so many people on the ice at one time all moving on their own timing.

Canada had the lead, lost it, then regained it with 20 laps to go. We were all on our feet, waving our flags and cheering for all 45 laps.

Near the end, whenever Charles Hamelin took a turn he poured on the speed and widened the lead. On one heart-stopping turn he wobbled a bit but was able to regain control and carry on. The finish was incredible and a clear win requiring no waiting for a judge.

The Canadian men take their victory lap.

Because Friday night was the last night of Victory Ceremonies at the Stadium, the medals for our events were presented at the venue. How lucky we were to see gold medal performances and then get to experience the medal presentations.

The men  receive their medals for the men's 500 m race.

And the flags were raised while we once again had the thrill of singing O Canada.

We then repeated the fun with the men's 5,000 m relay team. After they all received their medals, they posed as a group for a picture.

It was so incredibly exciting and breathtaking to see our country take two gold medals in a single hour of competition. It was a great way to cap our Olympic sporting events.

During the medal ceremonies they announced that Canada had won the hockey game 3 to 2. Whew. 

After it was all over, we boarded the express buses back to the SkyTrain and headed downtown in the rain so that Leena could see the cauldron lit up at night and again see the Olympic rings in Burrand Inlet. Of course they were a double shade of gold for Friday night.

It had been an electrifying night.

A Very Memorable Day

Today we had tickets for two events: the women's bronze medal hockey game between Sweden and Finland and the evening Victory Ceremony at the Stadium.

The hockey game was at 11 am so we decided to have a big breakfast downtown before the game. We hopped on the SkyTrain and ate at a local market. On our walk to the Stadium we wanted to find a Swedish flag to buy to show our support for Team Sweden but, perhaps because of the early hour, there were no vendors on the street.

We have an affinity to women's hockey as our daughter has played hockey since she was six and she continues to play at the college level in Wisconsin. The 11 am start time for today's game was also reminiscent of tournament and regular season games when she was younger.

We arrived at Canada Hockey Place in plenty of time for the game. I was impressed by how they have converted GM Place, the home of the Vancouver Canucks, into Canada Hockey Place for the Olympics. All traces of the Canucks and all of their sponsors had been eradicated from the building in preparation for the Games. Inside the arena everything was Olympics colours and the Games look. The electronic display signs featured the mascots and the Games imagery. The place looked great.

We had amazing seats just three rows from the ice on one end. These tickets were part of a package we had obtained from the original ticket lottery so obviously the actual seats were assigned in some sort of random draw.

If you watched the broadcast of the game and knew where we were seated, you would have spotted us in our Team Canada jerseys.

During the first intermission we were even featured on the Kiss Cam on the center ice video display. They show random couples from around the stands and expect a display of affection. We did our best. Later this evening one of my colleagues from the Venue Communications Centre (VCC) who was at the game told me that she said to her friends with her, "I totally know that guy!"

It was disappointing to see so many empty seats when there were so many people who would have liked to have attended. As the game was officially sold out, I can only speculate that the empty seats belonged to sponsors and the Olympic Family.

The game was great. It was obvious that there is a rivalry between these two European teams. It was a chippy game and at one point a Swedish player punched the Finish goalie. And this was women's hockey.

Team Finland had interesting components of their uniforms. I have never seen vertical stripes on hockey socks before.











There were a few pockets of supporters for both Sweden and Finland in the arena including the Finish Prime Minister. It was great to see the rest of the crowd--mainly Americans and Canadians--choosing sides and cheering on the teams.


These fellows seemed to be partial to Team Sweden. (Their signs say "Canada Loves Swedish Women".)

Near the end of the game they did a tribute to Olympic volunteers with the announcer saying kind words and the video display showing a random sample of the volunteers in Canada Hockey House.

The game was tied at the end of regulation play but the Fins prevailed in overtime to win. The girls were just ecstatic. You'd have thought that they had won the gold medal. It was heartwarming to see their excitement and their various exchanges with the crowd to thank us for our support.

Team Finland skated around the ice acknowledging the fans and showing the sheer joy of their win.

Now that the bronze medal had been decided it was time for us to focus on the gold medal match.

We had a few hours to kill before the Canada/U.S. showdown. We wandered through downtown and exchanged coins at the mint. On the street they will exchange any quarters for quarters issued for the Olympics. There is one each day. Today's was for the Canadian women's gold medal win in hockey in Salt Lake City. It was a omen.

We went to a restaurant in Yaletown and watched the first two periods of the gold medal game. At the end of the second period, with Canada up 2 to 0, we left the restaurant and walked over to LiveCity Yaletown to watch the rest of the match on the big outdoor screens.

I agonize over these close games but in the end Team Canada kept the shutout and retained the gold. Again it was exciting to be watching and celebrating with so many people.

We couldn't wait to watch the medals being awarded as we had to hurry off to the Stadium for the Victory Ceremony. We managed to get through security and into the Stadium concourse just in time to see the medals presentations. Canadians were stopped and watching on the television monitors. There was lots of cheering. When they played the national anthem, all the Canadians in the concourse sang O Canada. It was another incredible patriotic experience--but not the last for the night.

We had good seats for the Victory Ceremony up in the top level of the stadium. While it was still relatively quiet, a woman came by and asked us if we wanted passes to get into the mosh pit in front of the concert stage for the concert part of the evening. We accepted and she gave us wrist bands to wear and told us when and where to report.

They have installed a curtain across the centre of BC Place Stadium to create a more intimate venue for the Victory Ceremonies than the huge stadium in which the Opening Ceremonies were held. The basic stage structure is still in place for use in the Closing Ceremonies.

It was Manitoba night so several musical acts from the Province of Manitoba started off the evening. This was followed by the awarding of medals for a mixed bag of events; some that occurred yesterday and some today. Medals for Vancouver- and Cypress-Mountain-based events were presented live in front of us while we saw video of the concurrent presentations in Whistler for Whistler-based events.

The presentations at our stadium were well done with the appropriate pomp and ceremony. Mounties in their red serge paraded out with the flags. The crowd offered great applause for all the winners. There were even confetti cannons with gold, silver and bronze confetti.

Of course the highlight of the awards was the presentation of the women's bobsleigh up in Whistler. Canada won both the gold and the silver medals. There were great cheers in our Stadium as we watched the presentation and the raising of two Canadian flags. The largely Canadian audience in BC Place Stadium sang a rousing version of O Canada. I found myself getting choked up.

Following the medals ceremonies was the concert. Tonight was Canadian music legend Burton Cummings who hails from Manitoba.

We followed the directions we had been given for the mosh pit and soon found ourselves standing on the same stage that had been used for the Opening Ceremonies and had just minutes before been used for the awarding of medals to the athletes. While some people crowded the stage there was plenty of room and it was a fabulous place to watch the concert: up close with room to move around.

Cummings put on a terrific show. It was music from our generation. I think he sang everything that would be included in a greatest hits compilation. We sang along, we swayed, we danced, we clapped, we yelled, and we had a great time. It was a lot of fun.

He played much longer than the other acts that have performed at the Victory Ceremonies. In fact my VCC colleagues told me that the ceremonies mangers were quite annoyed that he strayed from the arranged playlist and that he came back out for an encore. They didn't even turn on the stage lights for the encore. On the radios they threatened to not turn on the microphones if he returned for a second encore. We didn't mind. We thought it was a blast. My ears are still ringing.

Of course there is a great collection of people from all over the world enjoying the Canadian music at these concerts including this supporter of the team from down under--and his friend.

The day was still not over. My colleagues from the VCC had e-mailed earlier in the week about getting together after the VCC closed this evening for a beer at the casino next door. Leena headed home on the SkyTrain and I walked back to the casino.

We had a good turnout from our team. Of course there were lots of pictures taken and talk about how to stay in contact. People are already talking about the possibility of volunteering again in Sochi in four years.

It sounds like most people--myself included--will be working on Sunday for the Closing Ceremonies.

This was an incredible day that generated amazing memories and included great celebrations. It is a shame there are only a few Olympic days left.