I thought I’d already had my say on the Olympics and how exactly this event affect me, this city and the entire country but reading some of the post Olympics news I’ve come to realize that I have more to say. A whole lot more and much of it isn’t positive.

My mother (as I'm sure as yours did too) always told me that if I didn’t have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. OK – here’s what I have nice to say about Gil LeBreton – I don’t know you.

Take what you can get because the fact is, I don’t like you either. So sure, I live in Vancouver. I was here before the games and I’ll be here after so perhaps I do have some sort of vested interest but when you compare Canada and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics to Nazi Germany and the 1936 Berlin games, I’m going to take offence.

For 2 weeks Vancouver and the rest of Canada showed pride in not just their athletes but their country. So yes, perhaps some of the parties were less about the games than getting together to simply enjoy each other and what the city has to offer but you know what? It doesn’t matter because the bottom line is that we celebrated with the world. If you didn’t see an Olympic flag, you obviously didn’t look hard enough because they were hanging everywhere and as for people carrying them, I saw buttons and pins displaying the rings.

And shame on us for celebrating our local heroes. Never mind that the New York Times, which I saw handed out on a few occasions at transit stations early on into the games, prominently featured US athletes. And you chide us for putting our Olympians on the cover of newspapers and magazines? Please. As for that montage…guess what, you’re watching Canadian Television – suck it up. If you want to see someone else, tune into another station. Out of curiosity, I turned to NBC’s coverage of the closing ceremonies and guess what? Every 15 seconds, the camera was panning to another US athlete. Where were the other Olympians then? CTV’s coverage took note of many an international winner.

Perhaps it’s our own fault. Canada has long been seen as some second rate little brother to the US. Is it safe to assume that the world now has a better understanding of who we are and that yes, we have national pride that runs as deep and fervent as any other? Gosh, I sense a bit of envy here from LeBreton – or something.

I’m sure LeBreton isn’t alone in his views but I can’t, in good faith, agree with anything he's put to paper. There isn’t even an attempt at balance in his story, only a disdain for Canada and what the country achieved. At least Chris Erskine managed to balance the good and the bad in his final coverage.

There have been a great number of "Olympic Moments" so far in these games but none have stuck with me quite as much as Jon Montgomery's. I don't think the skeleton is nearly as popular as some of the other sliding sports but I have a fascination with both this and luge. It's something to do with the velocity and the fact that these folks are just wearing a helmet.

I was excited to see Montgomery finish second after his qualifying run but nothing quite prepared me to see him take home gold. I didn't know much about Montgomery going in but having seen the Olympian (a used car salesman and auctioneer when he's not competing) interviewed over the last few days has made him one of my favorites. He has a great sense of humor, a playful demeanor and yes, it helps that he's cute and knows how to appreciate a drink.

Take a look at his run (sorry, CTV are sticklers on the embedding but it's worth a look). You back? Yeah, spectacular eh? Then there's the "Olympic Beer" moment which made me love him that much more. I've also seen him accept a bottle of Wiser's and of course, there's this two fister:

Yeah, Jon's the man.

While out and about yesterday, hubby and I ended up at LiveCity Vancouver, home of the Manitoba House. I was thrilled to see posters and images of Manitoba's own Montgomery all over the place. Yes, totally awesome and so far, my favourite Olympic Moment.

Admitedly, I haven't been particularly excited about the upcoming Olympic Games (9 days and counting). I thought money being spent could be used elsewhere and I haven't been looking forward to getting around town during the games but I must admit that over the last few days, I've had a change of heart. I still think the money could have been used elsewhere but I can't help but get a bit excited at the thought that millions of people will be turning their eyes to the city I call home for a world wide spectacle. And how can one not get excited when everywhere you look there's something Olympic related?

One of the coolest things about the games is the Cultural Olympiad that comes with it. There are "houses" being set up throughout town and cities (Richmond, Surrey etc) have set up huge areas for hosting special events including a truckload of free concerts. Seriously, it's an amazing thing to be a music fan in the middle of the games because there's so much entertainment to be had, I'm not sure where to even start. I've been trying to sort though various even listings but frankly, it's turned into a bit of a nightmare. Thankfully, there are extensive program guides available at the Vancouver Art Gallery - I'm going by tonight after work to pick one up.

If you're in town and looking for something cool to do, I found You Gotta Be Here, a great page which has links to all of the various houses and pavilions each of which has their own website with schedule, events, cost etc.

Stay tuned, I have a feeling I'll be hitting some awesome events over the next few weeks!

When the buzz started to generate about Vancouver stepping up and offering up our beautiful city for the Winter Olympics, I knew this wouldn't end well. I realize the importance of an event like this one but the city simply wasn't ready. We had so many other issues to deal through before we could get around to even thinking about hosting an event this size yet, City officials forged ahead, winning the bid.

For many, there was elation at the announcement but some of us were concerned.

Now there's this issue of the Olympic Village, cost overruns and the taxpayers having to shoulder the cost of the development. If that's not bad enough, the project is into major cost overruns, behind schedule and even when all is said and done and the
Olympics are over, we're going to be stuck as owners of these fabulous properties that will either be sold below cost or the City will have to hold onto them until the market returns to healthier levels. I've been reading a few bits and pieces in various different papers and all the experts seem to agree - this is going to be bad. Really bad.

This morning I was reading a piece over the The Georgia Straight that paints an even grimmer picture and the costs of these games just keep on rising. And if it wasn't bad enough to be going through this when the economy was looking decent, imagine dealing with this while we're in recession? They're estimating that BC residents could be paying this off for their entire lifetimes.

Is it worth it? It may be for those of above average income but the rest of us are going to feel the pain and no, I don't think it's worth it. But we're too far in now.