As the torch was lit last Friday afternoon in London, I couldn't help but remember the feelings of seeing the Olympic torch lit here in Vancouver two years ago.
It's hard to believe that just two years ago in the winter of 2010, all the eyes of the world were on Vancouver as we hosted the Winter Olympics. Boy, how time flies by.
I vividly remember our Coast Reporter team a week before the Games' opening ceremonies at Spirit Square in Sechelt with thousands of other Coasters as we embraced the Olympic spirit in our community celebration.
I still get chills when I recall our community torchbearer Sarah Doherty as she made her way through the massive crowd and up on stage where she proudly held the flame aloft.
Then one week later, we all felt pride when the Games were opened with such fanfare. Sure, we had our problems, including that infamous glitch when one of the arms of the indoor torch did not rise up from the floor. And yes, we had troubles with lack of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures that made for some interesting challenges for Games' staff. But remember the pride and excitement we felt when Canada first struck gold on the ski hill?
On the first Sunday night, Alexandre Bilodeau carved his way into Canadian history by becoming the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal at home, finishing first in the men's moguls skiing final at Cypress Mountain. And the celebrations continued as Canada won 14 total gold medals and 26 medals overall to finish third in the medal standings.
We partied in the streets of Vancouver when Sydney Crosby scored the golden goal as Team Canada beat Team USA in the men's hockey final.
London's opening ceremonies, much like ours, were filled with history and colour, music and pageantry. I loved the homage to James Bond, complete with Queen Elizabeth jumping out of a helicopter with 007 high above the stadium. And how about the London Symphony Orchestra playing Chariots of Fire as Mr. Bean -actor Rowan Atkinson -took to a keyboard? Classic, and one of the funniest moments I dare say in Olympic opening ceremony history.
London too has not been without controversy in the opening days. London organizers were under fire when the extravagant cauldron was located in the stadium where no one could see it. In fact, in order to see the flame, people had to buy a ticket. To quell the controversy, organizers extinguished the flame and relocated it within the Olympic stadium, relighting the torch early Monday. The flame isn't suppose to go out, is it? I take a little exception to this and even more exception to the comment made by Games chief Lord Sebastian Cole when he said the flame was not a tourist attraction. Um, yes it is - when it's the Olympics.
But in the end, organizers made what was wrong right again, allowing the public to see the torch in all its glory.
While we probably won't be as successful on the podium at the Summer Games in London as we were in Vancouver, as I write this column Wednesday afternoon, Canada had won five medals (one silver and four bronze) in synchronized diving, weight lifting, judo, swimming and rowing. In Beijing, site of the last Summer Olympics, Canada finished 11th with 18 medals and didn't land on the podium until eight days into the competition.
I have high hopes that Canadian athletes, some 281 strong, will do us proud and that the medal haul is just beginning.
And you too can join the Olympic excitement with Coast Reporter's on-line games coverage. Go to our website at www.coastreporter.net and click on the sports tab at the top of the home page. There you will find a new Olympics tab, which will bring you to our Summer Olympics section complete with stories, results and photos highlighting all the great achievements of our Canadian athletes and other athletes from around the world. Join in and relive the Olympic spirit and excitement.
