XXI Olympic Winter Games Thread - 2010

[Mr. TM]

Host City: Vancouver
Motto: With glowing hearts/Des plus brillants exploits
Nations: 80+
Athletes: 5,500
Events: 86
Opening Ceremony: February 12
Closing Ceremony: February 28​

The 2010 Winter Olympics are only six months away from becoming the third Olympia to take place in Canada. And that means one thing, we will have some great crowds for the Ice Hockey events.


Host City: The Olympics are coming to my back yard. Vancouver is just a short drive for me, and I think I can vouch for he city. Beautiful. On the coast of the Pacific Ocean with the beautiful skyline hugged against the mountain peaks in the distance. The other host city, Whistler, which will be the home of the alpine events is often called the greatest ski hill in the world. The construction is going well, fighting back from some troubles that occurred through monetary issues.

Many interesting circumstances arise from Vancouver. It is a mild winter city, with temperatures usually around 5 degrees Celsius at the time of the event. It is also at sea level, giving the advantage to some competitors. It is also the largest city to host the games, with about 4,000,000 people living there.

Event I am most excited for: Women's Ice Hockey. It is my favourite thing to watch in the Olympics, just after the Men's Ice Hockey. But the Canadian Women always put on incredible fast paced games. I expect them to win Gold this year, as is what they seem to do best. The Men should have a good young team this year, headlined by Sidney Crosby as well as Iginla, and perhaps Vancouver Canuck's goalie Roberto Luongo. He will become the first player playing for an NHL team (hopefully he is still in Vancouver at the time) to play in front of his home teams crowd.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

To be honest with you, I didn't even know that the Winter Olympics are coming up. I do love them, though. They're more exciting than the Summer Olympics, though not as popular. Some people like sprinting and swimming, but I prefer watching snowboarding and hockey. My favorite event is freestyle skating because well, I like to ski.

Not sure what else to say..

Yeah! Olympics!

 

[Baller]

I am a bigger fan of the Summer Olympics as I love basketball but I am a fan of the differences in Winter Olympics. I love curling and this is my only true oppurtunity to watch this event.

 

[Mr. TM]

Wow. I have met another curling fan. I love the old Rock and Rink. I suspect you are either Canadian, or the coolest non Canadian on earth. Which rink do you cheer if you are a canuck? If not, do you cheer for your home nation? Canada usually does well in curling, depending on who sneaks by in Nationals.

 

[Baller]

LOL I'm a Floridian. But I just enjoy watching it on TV in the morning when the Olympics are on. I only watch that and ice hockey mainly for the Olympics, and I do root for USA.

 

[Mr. TM]

I thought Florida only cared about the ice in their drinks. Interesting, seeing a fan so far away from the core of hockey. How do you think USA will do on the long rink? Ill be surprised if they crack the top 5 really, with some good Scandinavian rinks coming in and Canada always shinning.

 

[Baller]

They will be decent but they will not hit the podium in 2010. Its brutal watching hockey down here as the Panthers are jsut god awful.

 

[Mr. TM]

I'm from near Vancouver, so I watch the best goalie ever. What is his name again? You might remember. Luongo? Yeah, that guy. Nah I am just messing with you, in 20 years from now, I am sure The Panthers will have a good team... in Toronto.

But as for the Olympics, Sweden looks to have a great team this year again, so I know Canada has to watch over them. Russia has a decent line up as well.

 

[Baller]

Lol Luongo the one good thing down here. But he never made us to the playoffs so it dont matter. Let them go to Toronto they should because nobody cares down here.

 

[Mr. TM]

I thought I should get this thread alive again. I went to see the Flame the other day, it was great, even though it was very cold. Got to meet Mark Recchi, who grew up here.

Anyways, the Olympics is quickly here so lets get some discussion going. Favourite event?

I am a huge Women's hockey fan and after Canada has won two straight gold in Women's Hockey, I have a feeling that we can do it again.

This brings me to another point. Canada has had two Olympics before. The 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Both of those events had Canada fail to win a gold medal. Is this a year for a change? We won the 5th most in 2006, so I am sure we will be able to win.

Another question, Germany is pretty dominant at the Winters, will they keep it up? Will Austria, Russia, Canada or America be able to beat them put in 2010?

 

[fongp88]

My cousin is on the Canadian Women's Curling team so I have a few days that I'll be out in Vancouver. I'll try to get some hockey tickets but not for Canada since I likely won't be able to afford it.

 

[Cookie]

Anyways, the Olympics is quickly here so lets get some discussion going. Favourite event?

I love short track speed skating. I love watching races because they're fast paced, fun to watch, and there's no type of scoring system so it's anybody's game. I love it when someone comes out of nowhere to win the race. It's always exciting.

 

[Mr. TM]

The IIHF standings have been released just in time for some hockey. With Canada's poor showing in the last two world championships, Canada dropped down to second. But of course, the IIHF standings show little, as most NHL players do not take part. Canada is also second in the women's action this year, after we lost to the Americans last championship. It was the first time the Americans won a big game against Canada since 1998, but it helped, as well as getting more chances than Canada. Canada should win the womens gold, and I have high hopes we will do better than 7th which we got last year for the men, after we actually have a good team, unlike the shit Gretzky gave us. Thank you Yzerman.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

The opening ceremony is on Friday and I can't be more excited. This is going to be great for the country of Canada and for the city of Vancouver. There are some issues with the weather, but I am confident that a solution will be figured out. I'm most excited for hockey, but that doesn't mean that I love the rest of the sports. I love the Winter Olympics and with it being in Canada, it makes these games something special. This is a great event for the world, the country, the athletes, and the fans and I can't wait for the cauldron to be lit and have the games underway.

 

[Mr. TM]

I am also looking forward to it all. I was thinknig about heading down on Thursday, and seeing all the fun. There are a TON of free concerts, and I was looking at going to Our Lady Peace.

The biggest issue right now I keep hearing about, and feeling is that concern you brought up S_F. Its hot here, hasnt been below 0 in months. And at Whistler, the snow is melting. Right now they are bringing in snow to the slope from in the mountains, but a good snowstorm could really help out the hill.

 

[Mr. TM]

Tragedy just hours before the Olympic flame in Vancouver is to be lit. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died today while he was practicing at the facility. A damper was put on the Olympics from the beginning, and the Georgian team doesn't know whether or not it will compete in the games.

Some have raised concerns about the track, as it is possibly the fastest track ever, yet speed comes with risk. The track is shut down for now, as investigators are looking into it.

 

[Cookie]

That's so awful. I feel so bad for his family and his team.

TM, you didn't address the question of the day: who is the final torchbearer? Some people are saying it's gonna be Gretzky but apparently "nobody knows who it is." Personally, I have no idea but I sure hope it isn't Gretzky.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

It is a tragedy and if you saw the clip of the crash, it really is hard to watch. The track is very fast and danger comes with that. I just hope this is the only incident to happen.

As for the lighting of the cauldron, I have no idea. Gretzky is a great choice as he is a great symbol of Canada and a big part of our culture, but there are other options as well. Rick Hansen and Betty Fox are also being discussed and I've heard of another option. A hologram of Terry Fox handing the flame to his mother and she lights it. Whoever does light it, it shouldn't cause controversy because either way the cauldron is lit and the games are underway.

 

[Mr. TM]

I heard Gretzky, but I am not sure if it will be him. Catrina Le May Doan would be a great choice as well to light the flame, but I don't think she will either (has she already carrier it?). I thought Nancy Greene would do it, but she ran it through Kamloops. Heck, maybe Bret Hart will do it, he IS Canada's only hero. And really, I can't think of anyone better than Gretzky, so it could be him.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Well the weather has already had a negative affect on the Olympics. The Women's Super Combine has been delayed because they did not get a training run in because of soft snow. They are also discussing whether or not the Men's skiing can con on as scheduled. The weather was talked about as a problem for a while now and it seems as though the fears are being realized. I hope this doesn't hurt these games and make them a failure and I am a little scared of that. They have rain coming as well so I'm worried about how sloppy the events will be.

 

[Mr. TM]

Well the good news now is Georgia is going to compete still. Little known fact fromt he press conference, I found out that they are not part of the United States anymore. /sarcasm. Anyways, the team is shaken up, and I don't blame them. They however knew what was best for the athletes, a team that always needs support, after winning 3 golds and six medals in 2008, I am cheering for them this year.

 

[Mr. TM]

After a day, Canada failed to capture their first Gold, but they got their first medal, a Silver. We received it in the Moguls for women, as Heil has a beautiful run, but did not capture her second gold.

On the shorttrack, we did alright, but no medals. That is alright, Long Track is here Canada shines. The Koreans were placed 1-3 until a last corner crash took them out, and gave the Americans a silver out of it.

First event I watched was the Ski Jump, there were some great long jumps, but the Poles did well there.

My favourite event kicked off well, Womens Hockey, as Canada had a bit of a slow game against the Slovakians, We only scored 18 times in the shutout, so we will have to improve against the Swiss.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Canada just won their first Gold Medal on home soil!!! Bilodeau took the Gold in Men's Freestyle Moguls edging out the winner from the last Olympics. Canada had a chance to gain silver and bronze, but the other Canadians finished 4th and 5th respectively. It's a great night here in Canada as we can finally celebrate the first GOLD MEDAL IN CANADA!!!

GO CANADA GO

 

[Mr. TM]

When it was announced that the last skier placed 6th, Canada erupted! He is destined to be a Senator in 40 years

Bilodeau has an INCREDIBLE run, nailing both jumps. We were awesome on the woman's side, but only got silver, but not tonight. It was such an inspiration seeing his brother, his number one fan.

If you know the story, Dale Begg-Smith, The World Champion of the sport, a born Canadian, who shunned Canada to join the Aussies won silver, after being beatened by Bilodeau in a sense of redemtion. Canada also placed 4th and 5th, although there is a case that Brian Smith's run wasn't that great, being incredible slow.

Canadians placed 1, 2, 4, and 5th, Americans in 3rd, proving that it is now a North American dominated sport.

 

[Slyfox's Bitch]

Great showing by Bilodeau. He really deserves being the first to bring a Gold Medal on Canadian grounds. We could have had 2 more medals, but a lack of final effort put us just short of that feat. I'm looking for Canada to bring some more medals; especially in hockey. We won't disappoint.