Day 9 of Competition

I was so conflicted today. I had a ticket to see the medal ceremony, but I really wanted to see the girls race the 1500 and I only saw the first half because I knew I should leave early for the stadium because of the hockey game. So I went and am I ever glad I did. The buses and Sky train were very busy and I wasn't looking forward to going downtown but I did. I got off the Sky Train and asked for directions to B.C.Place. They have volunteers at the exit of all Sky Train stops. I was told it was straight down Georgia St.--about a 10 min. walk. Well I think that is on days when there isn't a Canada-US hockey game! The street was wall to wall people and I get a little worried in those instances because I am so short that I can't tell where I am and what is up ahead. However, 35 mins later I got to the frontof B.C. Place, but I still had some time, so I went over to Downtown Live at David Lam Park. That is where the Canada Pavilion and the Manitoba Pavilion are. I was told that people started lining up at 8:30 this morning to get in to watch the hockey game there on the big screen. I went on to the Ontario Pavilion where thousands were standing outside watching the game-- the same at Molson Hockey House.
I went through security for B.C. Place and because it is such a large venue(for Opening & Closing ceremonies) the security is about 1 km from the entrance to the venue. There are smaller crowds for the medal ceremonies but the security remains the same.
We started off with a warm-up from Ben Mulroney and Tamara someone or other doing a trivia thing which wasn't great, but then at 6:30 the show began. There were many empty seats because many people were out in the hallways watching the hockey game on the big screens. Each night, one of the provinces is highlighted for its culture and tonight it was Nunavut. We were treated to a 1/2 hour presentation of story-telling, song, art and games. It was fabulous. They did a large section on the significance of the Inukshuk and even formed a human one!
Unfortunately I was really high up so I was not able to take any pictures. I tried several times but my camera is just not good enough to get a decent picture from that far away.
After the Nunavut show, we all stood for the Olympic hymn while the Olympic flag was raised, carried in by 4 mounties.
Then the ceremony started. As the mounties marched in carrying the flags of the winning countries, we were shown video on the massive screen of the winning performances. The athletes then marched in, followed by the 3 girls with medals and flowers on trays and the 2 IOC members who were to present the medals--and it is different for each event. As the flags are raised, we are asked to stand for the anthem. The athletes then parade around for a few moments, stopping briefly for Kodak moments. As they exit, the announcer says :your medallists! and confetti is shot out of two cylinders. We then switched to a live feed from Whistler to see a medal ceremony from there--standing again for the anthem! In all we saw 4 ceremonies from Vancouver and 4 from Whistler. That is 8 anthems we stood for and they were all different. When the Stars and Stripes played for Bode Miller I sang along because I didn't get a chance to sing O Canada! That was the only disappointment, but Shani Davis is practically Canadian. We adopted him for awhile because he didn't feel comfortable on the American team. And my husband is from the Netherlands and they were represented as well.
After the ceremonies there was a concert by Trouper. They opened with "We're here for a good time, not a long time". How appropriate was that! They were very good, but very loud! I must be getting old. There was another concert after that with Loverboy, but it was already 9:30 and I was afraid if I waited much longer I was going to get caught heading back with the hockey crowd and it would take me forever. After the last game they were lined up for 2 hours to get on the Sky Train. Besides, I was getting a headache.
Congratulations to Kristina on a great race and to Scott and Tessa for a spectacular Original Dance. I can't wait for tomorrow night. I feel so badly for Joannie I can't imagine where she will find the strength to compete. For those of you who don't know, she lost her mother overnight. She had just arrived in Vancouver hours earlier and died of a sudden heart attack. The Chef de Mission for Canada, Nathalie Lambert, was having trouble composing herself while she told the media.