Unfortunately All Good Things Come To An End

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics were 17 days of pure fun and enjoyment and I'm sad to see them go. I remember cheering in the 7th grade when it was announced that the 21st Winter Olympics would be held in Vancouver. Being the nerd I am I understood the ramifications of hosting an Olympics but I did not care, I felt what happened to Montreal after '76 and Calgary after '88 could never happen to Vancouver in 2010.

VANOC should be proud of themselves. Although the games started with the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili just hours away from the opening ceremonies, Canadians did not let that spoil the festive atmosphere but everyone was still grieving as life intervened on what was supposed to be a dreamlike opening ceremony.

Then there was the international media (I'm looking at you Great Britain) that labeled the games as the "Glitch Games" after a pillar of the indoor Olympic Cauldron malfunctioned, and numerous reschedulings up in Whistler due to bad weather (which no one has control over or can accuractly predict) despite forgetting that most Olympics have their "glitches".

Did they forget the Salt Lake City bid scandal and figure skating scandal in 2002? or the fact that it seemed no one showed up to watch the Athens Games early on in 2004? (seriously I've seen more people in the stands at Marlins' games when they suck, but in fairness the games were somewhat successful) or the same thing happening in Turin in 2006 along with all it's other problems? or about all the myriad of problems at the Beijing games in 2008?

The 2010 Vancouver games might have had its "glitches" but they were over-scrutinized because lets face it, they all happened early on and at the time there was nothing else to really report about the games. Plus, and this is just my personal theory, the British media by bashing the Vancouver games was trying to create a cushion so that if something went wrong in London in 2012 they could just say "well we're not worse than Vancouver".

Other than that the games were the most successful Winter Games by far and also one of the most successful Olympic games despite taking place after the phenomenal games in Beijing. And the reason they were so much more successful than Montreal's or Calgary's games was because of five factors:

1. The reputation of Vancouver as a tourist city. Honestly, most people around the world had heard of Vancouver before these games and most people knew it is one of the top 5 most beautiful cities in the world and the most beautiful city in North America. The same thing was a factor for Beijing in 2008 and probably explains why Salt Lake City and Turin weren't too successful. In their respective countries there are way more well-known cities internationally whereas Canada only has 3 (Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver). And if Sochi doesn't have a successful winter games in 2014 this could be the number 1 reason why, no one really has heard of it or knows where it is on the map.

2. The Digital Age. This is why the '08 and 2010 games have been so successful and the '76 games in Montreal were such a disaster. Viewers were constantly bombarded with beautiful images of the cities and also of their respective countries. People couldn't get enough of the images of China's historical Great Wall or other culturally significant monuments in '08 and in 2010 they couldn't get enough of Vancouver's and Canada's natural beauty especially Americans who are only used to seeing giant skyscrapers in their big cities. Also everything about the games is viewable on the internet thus allowing billions of people around the world to watch events. Montreal, despite being a fantastically well-known city, unfortunately took place at the wrong time.

3. Pacific Coast Time. The two major markets that these games were catered to was the U.S. and Canada itself. Events were scheduled at times that were convenient for people on the west coast and especially the east coast. With the scheduling the bigger TV markets on the East Coast were able to broadcast events live in prime time. While on the West Coast people were able to watch events the whole day as they were repeated in prime time, so if anyone missed events in the morning due to work or school they were able to watch the repeat once they got home.

4. Owning The Podium. It was scrutinized after the first week when Canada only had about 7-9 medals and looked on course to fall below even 20 medals. But the best was yet to come, and Canadians were finally relieved to have something to celebrate as the medals came pouring in for Canada in the final two weeks, capturing a total of 26 medals (a Canadian record). 14 of which were Gold making Canada, a nation that had no Gold medals at home before, now the country with the most Gold medals of any Winter Olympic games let alone a host country. Also the U.S. took home 37 medals (the most ever in any Winter Games) giving many Americans a reason to tune in to watch the games. So overall North America took home 63 medals between the two neighbours.

5. Canadians Embracing The Games. From the first day the Olympic torch arrived in Canada and began its relay across this great nation, Canadians everwhere came out to see the flame. Even from the outset Canadians could tell that these would be an Olympics to remember. And they were, all the venues were packed as it literally seemed that the whole world had flocked to Vancouver for 17 magical days, virtually every event was sold out and although I don't know the official ticket numbers or the revenue numbers I predict they'll be huge. It was a block party and everyone was invited and I'm sad that its ended but I will never forget these Olympics as long as I live. I am proud to be a Vancouverite and I am even prouder to be Canadian.

Peace and Much Love to Ya :)

**share your memories and thoughts with us in the comments section!!**