Game Day at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Saturday, Day 9. FINALLY.

Everything was building to this day specifically because we had tickets to two events - both hockey. When I bought these tickets 10 months ago I thought I had it well planned out. I figured it was a lock that Canada would play on Saturday night, hopefully vs. USA or Russia. Surely one of the top teams would be playing a big game on a Saturday night right? RIGHT?

Wrong.

I guess Sunday was the plan for the IOC and the TV networks. In hindsight, it makes sense. Why wouldn't you save all of the big matchups for the final day of the round robin? I've kicked myself everyday up until our events and wished I had made that observation in advance and booked our live Olympic experience for Sunday instead.

Now that the events are over and done with, I don't think I would have changed anything. Lola and I knew we would have a great time but little did we know just how fantastic it truely would be. An amazing, exhilarating and once in a lifetime chance to see four countries compete at a sport that is considered by most as - Canada's game.

The adventure started off at 1pm where we drove over to the River Rock and caught the Canada line downtown. It took a good 30 minutes to get on the train, and it was jammed like something I had only seen on youtube. check it out. Ok it wasn't that bad, but seriously, it was tight!

All I could think about was getting off that train as quickly as possible. 25 minutes later we were downtown and enjoying the sites and sounds of the Olympic party in the streets. The streets were closed and the crowds were massive. As we made our way to "Canada Hockey Place" (aka GM Place, but not allowed per the IOC) we enjoyed a few street performers and stopped for a street side bratwurst.

The entry into the venue was very well run and very organized. Fenced in an protected from the non ticket holders we made our way through security. It was basically like we were at the airport. Scanners, metal detectors etc, but not too much in terms of police presence. Which was nice. Everyone was very friendly and peaceful and there were no issues whatsoever. I did have to chug my half bottle of water so it really did feel like the airport.

The first game was attended by myself, Lola and her parents. It was a blowout. Slovakia beat Latvia 6-0. Hossa, Gaborik, Chara, Vancouver's Demitra and the Montreal goalie Halak rounded out the superstars. Lativa had none.

The fans were nuts. Singing and cheering on the team. There was never a boo in the house. It was great. Faces painted, wearing their team colors and screaming at the top of their lungs. Country pride at its finest.

After the game we hit up a local bar/restuarant called Moxies. My sister arrived an hour earlier
and reserved a table. The waiting line was out the door, which was obvious and also why my sister got there and booked a table for 6. I had a couple stiff drinks to go along with my 4 beer buzz from the first game. Ahhhhh the Olympics.


The second game was a much better contest. My bro-in law is from Germany and I was taking him and my sister as a gift to them both. I had a great buzz going on as we walked back to the venue and completed the same security check again. It didn't take long at all.

We took the store entrance to the building and browsed around a bit before we made our way to the beer stand to load up. This time the stadium was filled with green and red Belarusian fans and the other half was full of crazy Germans.

I saw one girl holding up a huge German flag and on the second stripe of the flag it had written in black ink "The Hoff." Respect the Hoff. He is an icon in Germany.

The Germans sang all sorts of songs. Some of them I suspect were actually soccer songs, but I had no clue. My bro can speak German and there must have been 4-5 instances where Germans would come up to him and start speaking random German to him. He's a bit rusty so once they figured out he couldn't converse they went on their way. Stubborn Germans.

Did I mention I was German too? I had to pull for Germany, but secretly I was also pulling for Belarus as I wanted to see a competitve game go down to the wire. While it was exciting how Germany came back from a 3-1 deficit, they did lose in the end 5-3. Every single goal that Belarus scored was a beauty.

4 beers later and we were being ushered out into the masses on the street. It was nuts. A sea of people. The lineup to catch the train was ridiculous. So much so that we decided to walk down to waterfront station where the torch was lit up and on display.

We caught the train at 12am and the ride home was a breeze. An awesome and most memorable time at the Vancouver Olympics for sure.

Good times eh.