Seventeen days of Vancouver hosting the world came to a joyful end last night with impassioned speeches, a little poking fun at ourselves and a line-up of some of Canada’s best recognized musicians. We danced, we cheered and we remembered the last 17 days of rivalry, sport and culture; days filled with both joy and disappointment, tears of happiness and missed opportunities but above all, we celebrated Canada and British Columbia put forth a friendly and welcoming face not just to the rest of country but to the entire world.

It was a games filled with memorable moments. From Alex’s gold to Devon Kershaw’s near podium finish, it was a games that created new heroes while ushering out past ones in style. In the years of watching Olympic Games I have never seen or remembered the names of so many Canadians – kudos to the Olympic network for being there at every important turn and showing the entire country the best we have to offer.

As for the hockey, yesterday the country came to a near standstill for three nail biting hours as Canada faced the US for that coveted gold medal. There had been jokes that Canada would commit mass suicide if we didn’t win gold and though we laughed at that exaggeration it certainly felt like the entire country came together yesterday to cheer at the Church of Hockey. For years people will ask “Where were you when Crosby scored that Golden Goal?” Our answer will be a simple one: with my countrymen.



My family has been in Canada for nearly 20 years and we’ve proudly called ourselves Canadians for the past few. I’ve always felt connected to this country but never as I have in the past 17 days. With a glowing heart I proudly say: I Am Canadian.