through the eyes of the a70

A sea of red is what you would’ve seen on Sunday if you had been on the streets of Canada. It was just before 3pm that Sidney Crosby had scored the winning goal of the most highly anticipated hockey game of the Olympics. Canada had beat the USA 3-2 in OT. Even if you didn’t own a television OR internet, it would be pretty darn hard for you to not have known the outcome of the game, as you could hear the shouts of people in the neighbourhoods and streets, and honks of cars everywhere. I must admit, the whole city must’ve exploded. What a heart-stopping game!

It marked the last gold awarded at these winter Olympics, but some say it’s probably the only gold medal that mattered (hey, I didn’t say that!). Let’s face it, we’re a hockey nation – we wouldn’t have it any other way. So let the celebrations roll!

These were taken after I left my house to go to the mint to trade for a lucky loonie – and of course, they had run out of them. So instead, I strolled along the streets to see people spontaneously singing the national anthem, giving high fives and taking photos with strangers, and waving the maple leaf flag.

Not only was everyone celebrating the gold medal in hockey, we were celebrating an all-time record of 14 golds, 7 silvers, and 5 bronzes. It was a proud day in Canada!

Since the Olympics are in town, and it’s probably once-in-a-lifetime that it will be so close to me, I had to attend at least one event! I lucked out and bought tickets in time to see the Ladies Figure Skating Free Program on Thursday, and it was amazing! Seeing the top athletes in the world compete for gold, silver, and bronze live, now that’s priceless! Although you get all the commentary and replays and close-up angles, I found that seeing a sporting event live is more about the atmosphere and seeing the overall picture.

At the end of the night, “Queen” Yu-Na Kim of Korea got the gold with a world record score (surprise!), Mao Asada of Japan taking silver, and Joannie Rochette of Canada winning bronze! Here are some photos from the upper level!

International Broadcast Centre – where all the television magic happen for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The Olympic rings on Burrard Inlet turns golden for the 6th time. Ashleigh McIvor wins the first Olympic Ski-cross medal ever, since apparently she wrote an essay for her English class on why ski cross should be in the Winter Games when she was in her undergrad at UBC, then got an approval from the IOC in 2006 to have it included in the Winter Games! How wicked is that?!

Team Canada Medal Count: 6 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze