Winter Olympics Thread: Vancouver 2010

[colchar]

And the U.S. wins the Olympics with 37 medals! As Hansbroawawijdagso;;km would say: WOW!

Depends how you measure it. The International Olympic Committee measure it by how many gold medals countries win so, by their standards, Canada won the Olympics. Other measurements go by the total number of medals and, in that case, the Americans won.

Personally, I think both systems have merit so, as far as I am concerned, both Canada and the US won the Olympics. The Americans won the most medals and set a record doing so. Canada won the most golds and set a record doing so. Why don't we call it a draw and say that both our countries won these Olympics?

[colchar]

Umm, did anyone get caught for doping or PED's?

Yeah, at least one Russian athlete (a skier of some description) was caught.

[colchar]

William Shatner just talked - he was actually pretty funny. And I didn't know he was Canadian.

Yeah he is but trust me, y'all can have him if you want him.

[colchar]

When Colchar recovers from his drunken stupor after that hockey game, I'm sure even he'll say how impressed he was with the Americans in that game. They gave the Canadians all they wanted and more. Congratulations to the Canadian team on their gold, and Congratulations to the American team on an unbelievable tournament as a whole. On home ice, with all those screaming fans, we took the annointed hockey gods to OT. That's saying something about the US team.

Y'all have to remember that I played hockey at a very high level for many years - a former linemate/teammate of mine (we were on the same team for about a decade) played in the NHL for 15 years and I played against several other people who made the NHL - so I look at hockey games a bit differently from the average fan and certainly much differently than most of you would (I guess you could say I look at hockey games through the eyes of an expert or something like that).

based on that, I saw some real deficiencies in both teams but I think those might be blamed on the emotion of the moment to say nothing of the pressure and stress that both teams were under. Still, I saw some real problems on both sides so I honestly don't think it was a great hockey game - at least not in a technical sense. For emotion, suspense, drama, and the joy of victory it was an absolutely great game but technically both teams had problems.

I could go into more detail but just got home and want to get a couple of things done so that I can start doing the drinking that I didn't do last night.

And the overall between the two, the US still won in goal differential. I think they should have to beat the US again to break the tie! Rematch!

No problem - we thoroughly outplayed the US in the preliminary round game (the US only won because Miller played great and Brodeur screwed up and cost us a couple of goals) and we beat them in the gold medal game. If y'all want a rematch I'm sure Canadians would be happy to watch us beat you again ;)

[colchar]

Alanis Morisette: did she go through some plastic surgery or something??

Yeah, she actually looked half decent for a change.

[wilson]

The Americans won the most medals and set a record doing so. Canada won the most golds and set a record doing so. Why don't we call it a draw and say that both our countries won these Olympics?

This totally works for me. I always have fun watching any Olympics, but for whatever reason, I had a particular blast watching Vancouver. A hearty round of applause and slap on the back for Canada, and one more cheer for Uncle Sam.

[EarlJam]

The Americans won the most medals and set a record doing so. Canada won the most golds and set a record doing so. Why don't we call it a draw and say that both our countries won these Olympics?

This totally works for me. I always have fun watching any Olympics, but for whatever reason, I had a particular blast watching Vancouver. A hearty round of applause and slap on the back for Canada, and one more cheer for Uncle Sam.

I'll second that.

-EarlJam

[colchar]

It seems that the folks over at Yahoo Sports have come up with a ranking system of their own:


http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancou ... oly,224789

[EarlJam]

It seems that the folks over at Yahoo Sports have come up with a ranking system of their own:


http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancou ... oly,224789

Oh, "know them" (biblical sense)!

It's a draw. The U.S. won the most medals, the Canadians won the most gold, along with the most prestigious gold (hockey).

Abstain from jingoism! Embrace Continentalism! It's all about North America!

NORTH AMERICA KICKED ASS AT THE 2010 OLYMPICS! NORTH AMERICA RULES!!!!!

-EarlJam

[bjornolf]

And the U.S. wins the Olympics with 37 medals! As Hansbroawawijdagso;;km would say: WOW!

Depends how you measure it. The International Olympic Committee measure it by how many gold medals countries win so, by their standards, Canada won the Olympics. Other measurements go by the total number of medals and, in that case, the Americans won.

Personally, I think both systems have merit so, as far as I am concerned, both Canada and the US won the Olympics. The Americans won the most medals and set a record doing so. Canada won the most golds and set a record doing so. Why don't we call it a draw and say that both our countries won these Olympics?

I always thought they should assign a point system, like three points for a gold, two points for a silver, and one point for a bronze. Then, the country with the most "points" wins. By that measure, the US had 70 points and Canada had 61. I always thought that was "more" fair, as golds should be worth more than silvers should be worth more than bronzes, at least in my book.

However, under the current system, I'm happy with both countries "winning" the Olympics.

[bjornolf]

Tell us the truth, though, Colchar, EXACTLY what was going through your head and coming out of your mouth when the US scored that second goal? ;)

[Lavabe]

There was a great national drunk going on up here last night but I didn't take part in any of the partying. My Dad emigrated to Canada from Scotland and knew nothing about hockey when he got here but, because he supported my hockey career for so many years, he long ago fell in love with the game and is a big time fan. He is old now and, because I am not sure how much longer he'll be with us, I have no idea how many more big games he has left in him. That being the case there was no way I would've been anywhere last night except watching the game with him. So we relaxed around the house and watched the game - I missed all of the partying but don't regret it one little bit.

POTO!!!
[Post of the Olympiad!!!]

[Miles]

To debate winning the Olympics (overall) is to miss the point of the Olympics. IMHO.

[colchar]

Tell us the truth, though, Colchar, EXACTLY what was going through your head and coming out of your mouth when the US scored that second goal? ;)

Well, as I said in an earlier post, I watch hockey a little differently than you folks do so I saw that goal coming about 20 seconds before it was scored. I had said to my Dad as I noticed the play begin to develop "Watch this, the Yanks are gonna score here." When it went in I said "Fuck, sometimes I hate being right."

That being said, I didn't think the goal was that big a deal. In the third period Canada had stopped playing to win and had started playing not to lose - a natural reaction I think. When the goal did go in I was fine with it as I knew Canada would be playing to win in the overtime period rather than playing not to lose and that would be the difference maker, especially during four-on-four play, as the Americans wouldn't be able to handle us. I honestly felt that Canada would win in overtime, the only question was who would score the goal - I still can't believe it was Crosby who had done bugger all the rest of the tournament and I was fairly certain it would be Toews, Perry, or Getzlaf who scored.

[colchar]

There was a great national drunk going on up here last night but I didn't take part in any of the partying. My Dad emigrated to Canada from Scotland and knew nothing about hockey when he got here but, because he supported my hockey career for so many years, he long ago fell in love with the game and is a big time fan. He is old now and, because I am not sure how much longer he'll be with us, I have no idea how many more big games he has left in him. That being the case there was no way I would've been anywhere last night except watching the game with him. So we relaxed around the house and watched the game - I missed all of the partying but don't regret it one little bit.

POTO!!!
[Post of the Olympiad!!!]

Thanks. I wasn't around for the '72 Summit Series (well I was but I was only three years old and we were living in Scotland at the time) so I have no memory of it. I clearly remember the '87 Canada Cup and that I was watching it at Mom and Dad's with my parents and a couple of relatives who happened to be here from Scotland at the time. So I shared that one with my Dad and now I shared this one with him as well.

[colchar]

If any of you want to try to get at least a bit of an idea of what hockey means to us and how much of a role it plays in our national character, our national psyche, and the fact that it is often the vehicle through which Canadian fathers and sons develop and define their relationship you should try reading The Home Team: Fathers, Sons, and Hockey by Roy MacGregor. The book won't be able to fully explain it but it would do a good job of giving you a basic understanding of our love affair with the game as I don't think that is something that any of you can truly understand.*



* Scalpers were selling tickets to the gold medal game for $10,000 per pair and nobody I know thinks that was excessive - every one of us would have paid that had we had the chance. Can any of you imagine paying that much for tickets to a hockey game? Or any other game? And I bet there were no outdoor TVs or video screens set up in the US so that people could watch the game but here in Canada there were thousands of them set up across the country - in cities, towns, parks, shopping malls, stores, etc. - so that people who couldn't be at home could still see the game. In the Covent Garden area of London England there is a bar called the Maple Leaf that is, obviously, a Canadian bar. I saw video today of people partying there during and after the game and there were more people there than there were when I was partying there for Canada Day a couple of years ago. If more people show up to watch a hockey game than to party for our nation's birthday that really tells you something about our obsession with hockey. I could go on but I am not sure it is something that anyone who isn't Canadian can truly grasp.

[DukieInKansas]

To debate winning the Olympics (overall) is to miss the point of the Olympics. IMHO.

I agree. But I would like to congratulate Slovakia and Belarus for winning their first gold medal in the Winter Olympics.

Favorite medal ceremonies - watching the Virtue/Moir for ice dancing - singing their national anthem with gusto. Also ladies moguls - especially Shannon Bahrke of the US who won bronze. Since the gold medalist was also of the US, she got to hear her national anthem. Her excitement was heartwarming. (She also watched her brother compete as a last minute addition, I believe, and she looked so proud.) How cool!

[DukieInKansas]

There was a great national drunk going on up here last night but I didn't take part in any of the partying. My Dad emigrated to Canada from Scotland and knew nothing about hockey when he got here but, because he supported my hockey career for so many years, he long ago fell in love with the game and is a big time fan. He is old now and, because I am not sure how much longer he'll be with us, I have no idea how many more big games he has left in him. That being the case there was no way I would've been anywhere last night except watching the game with him. So we relaxed around the house and watched the game - I missed all of the partying but don't regret it one little bit.

POTO!!!
[Post of the Olympiad!!!]

I agree. Colchar, you are lucky that you realize that these moments are numbered and that you take advantage of the opportunities. Your parents must be pretty amazing!