billwixey.com

Don't believe everything you hear on TV. 

I was one of those breathless reporters, preaching about how overpriced and overcrowded the Olympics were going to be.  Well, guess what? I was wrong.  I spent a total of 7 days in Vancouver during the Olympic games, and I can tell you that much of the discussion about high-priced tickets, unaffordable lodging, and huge lines at the border was just hype.  Generally, none of it was much of an issue.

I spent the first four days of the Games in Vancouver.  I covered the opening of the Games for two days, and then hung out with friends over the first weekend, checking out the scene.  The energy pulsing through the city was like nothing I have ever experienced.  It was a fantastic international party, with people from all over the world peacocking their pride for their homeland. I have never been more proud to display the red, white, and blue of the United States.  But there were moments when my patriotic meddle was tested. 

                              

I took the family up for three days during the second week of the Games.  I crossed the border several times during the first week, and had no wait time at all. Seriously. Five minutes or less.  When we arrived at the Canadian border on the Sunday of the first US/Canada hockey game, the wait times were about a half hour.  From what I've been able to gather, that was about as bad as it got.  That is a great credit the US and Canadian border control.  They said they wanted the Olympics to be about the games, and not about the border, and they definitely succeeded.

After we crossed the border, we were cruising along with traffic along Highway 99 toward Vancouver, when I noticed a man waving his arms in the middle of the highway.  I slammed on my brakes, and quickly realized that it was a police officer. He motioned me to pull over, and I obliged. I rolled down my window and asked the officer what the problem was.  He said I was speeding.  He didn't tell me how fast I was going, and I doubt he really knew.  I told him we were travelling along with traffic, and it seemed pretty arbitrary that he would pull us, the American tourists, over.

"Pretty arbitrary, huh?" He repeated, obviously impressed with my command of the English language.

"Yeah, pretty arbitrary", I replied. 

The burly officer studied me for a moment, staring down at me through his yellow aviator glasses.  He realized that he was dealing with someone well-versed in smart-assery.  He issued me a $200 ticket and wished me a "better day". 

As he walked away, I shouted, "I hope you reach your quota!" He didn't even turn around. I suspect it's because he knew I was on to their little scam. 

So, less than 10 minutes in Canada, we had our very first Olympic souvenir.

I had reported weeks before the Olympics that places were renting for an average of $400-500 a night.  I figured we could do better if we waited.  And as it turned out, I was right.  Through a buddy, we rented a house just outside of town, right near the Canada rail line, for $125 a night. 

We immediately headed into town to check out the US/Canada hockey game.  The city was electric.  The place was ready to explode.  There was little chance of scoring tickets to that game, unless we wanted to spend hundreds per ticket, so we hunkered down at a sports bar in Yaletown.  For eight hours.  Catherine couldn't believe that we would just sit there all day long, waiting for a hockey game, but I knew if we lost that table, we would probably lose out on a chance to watch the game in a decent spot.  It was that crazy.

As it turned out, I was the ONLY American flashing the colors at the bar.  I was with a buddy and his family, but they opted to go low-key.   I, on the other hand, sported a vintage USA t-shirt with the Olympic rings on it, covered with a USA baseball sweatshirt.  There was no mistaking who I was rooting for.  As the US scored early on, I cheered just a bit.  A low, growl of boos surrounded me.  Best to keep a low profile in enemy territory.  As the US got closer to a stunning upset win over the heavily-favored Canadians, my buddy and I exchanged a few sly fist bumps in celebration.  After the final buzzer, and a US win, I let out a few hearty claps for the boys. I recieved nothing but handshakes and grudging nods from the Canadian fans as we left the bar, but once we reached the street party on Robson and Granville streets downtown, the mood was slightly different.  I was booed loudly by a few Canadian fans, who waved a Canadian flag in my face.  I think this display dissuaded Will, my 9-year-old from wanting to wear his USA gear out in public. He went shopping for a Canadian flag to fit in.  But even having recruited Will intgo their ranks, there was no consolation for the Canucks.  The air had been released from Vancouver that night.  The city was completely deflated.  But that would markedly change one week later.

The next day, we all went to the US Women's semifinal hockey game vs. Sweden.  I had reported that tickets were expected and difficult to find, but I thought I might be able to just show up to some venues and score tickets outside.  Once again, I was right.  We were able to score 4 tickets for $100.  Not a bad deal for tickets that were $200 apiece at face value. The US women won, and advanced to the gold medal game against Canada.  It was great waving the American flag and chanting U-S-A! 

We were able to score front row tickets to a US curling match for $20 apiece, so close to the "house" that we were able to hear the guys conferring.  I went to a Switzerland/ Belarus hockey game the next day (for $20 a ticket), and ended up sitting in the 3rd row.  It was a great game, and ended up going to a shootout, with Switzerland winning. 

My kids really embraced the Olympic Spirit.  They loved the flag-waving, the positive attitude and international feel of the Games. They loved the pin trading, the mascots, and the family-friendly vibe.  Will said it's one of the best vacations we've ever had.  So good, Will cried as we pulled out of Vancouver.  It was an interesting sociological experiment with the kids.  Gigi is very much a leader.  She reveled in waving the stars and stripes, and being different, since there were so few Americans there.  Truly, there were probably more Russians and Czechs in the streets than Americans. Will is a follower by nature, and wanted Canadian stuff to blend in with the crowd. 

Will is clearly taking his new Canadian allegiance seriously.  He didn't want to leave.  Once we got back home, the questions began.

"Can we move to Canada?" Will asked earnestly.

"Well, there's a whole work visa issue that would have to be dealt with", I replied, hoping to baffle him into submission.  It didn't work.

"You mean you can only use credit cards in Canada?" 

"No...it's just that we're American, and...we're not moving there, okay?"

"But can we go back to the Olympics?"

"I wish we could, Will, but there's only a few days left and you have school and I have work and we just can't make it happen.  I'm sorry."

Will wiped away a tear.  "Can we go back to Vancouver when the Olympics come back?"

"Well, the Olympics won't come back to Vancouver.  It only happens every four years, and next time it'll be in Russia.  I don't know if we could make it there."

Will paused, and then apprarently reasoned that the language barrier was what made a trip to Soschi in 2014 unlikely.
"When will the Olympics come to a city in Canada that speaks English?"

I told him I didn't know.  It could be a long time.  The crying got a little more hysteric. 

"I just love Canada!" Will wailed. "You know, there are kids in my class that don't even know about Canada." 

"Well", I said, trying to follow the logic of a 9-year-old, "I'll tell you what.  You and me will sit down and watch the rest of the Olympics on TV." 

"Nooo!" Will cried, "NBC's Olympic coverage sucks!"

And when the kid is right, he's right.  NBC's tape-delayed, star-obsessed, pro-American progaganda is ridiculous.  In Canada, we watched the actual Olympic games, most of them live on CTV, as they were actually happening. There were no flowery 5-minute biographies on Shawn White, no slo-mo montage of Lindsey Vonn's quest for gold.  None of that garbage.  The Games provide enough drama in themselves.  You don't need to sell real sports fans on sports.  Just show us the damn competition as it happens.  That's reality TV at its best!  NBC paid billions for the Olympics, and chooses to show next to nothing.  So here we are, 2 hours from the Olympics, and we're being forced to watch events that happened 10 hours earlier. It made me sick to my stomach.  The final straw for me was the US/Switzerland hockey quarterfinal, which hapened on noon on Monday, but NBC--apparently determined to piss off as many people as possible-- decided to tape delay the game 3 hours for the West Coast.  Seriously?  I was forced to watch the thing on my computer, cursing NBC the entire time.

NBC did decide to air the US/Canada gold medal game live.  They made quite a show of the fact that they were actually airing it "live", as if it was 1955 and televising a live sporting event was something novel.  It was for NBC, in their lustful quest for prime-time ratings. 

That game, however, might have been the greatest hockey game I've ever seen.  Canada won it in overtime, and it was one for the ages.  Of course, it had to be the Canadian hockey poster boy, Sidney Crosby, scoring the game winner.  It couldn't have been scripted any better.

Maybe Will is on to something.  Next Olympics, perhaps we will move to Canada.  Just so we can watch the actual Olympic Games on TV, and not the processed, pre-packaged crap that NBC foists upon us.