‘Cause I can’t hear you over our RECORD BREAKING GOLD MEDAL COUNT!
Well, the 21st Winter Olympics has officially closed. The flame is extinguished and the monumental task of putting on the 22nd Olympics has been officially passed to Russia’s Sochi City in an absolutely breathtaking – and hilarious!- closing ceremonies. Now, for those of you who missed yesterday night’s closing ceremony’s, I remind you that you can re-watch much of the Olympic moments at CTV.ca. Also, for Shaw customers, the Olympics are free on demand! They certainly were worth watching.
The ceremonies themselves started off with a brilliantly executed sketch regarding the 4th Arm that did not raise on the night of the Opening Ceremonies. Personally, I thought the fact that the VanOc committee had the courage to put themselves out there and say: YES, we made a mistake and, guess what, the games were still amazing! And when the final torchbearer, Catriona LeMay Doan, who was unable to light her arm 17 days ago had her Olympic moment… I immediately knew my homework was not getting done that night.From there, the celebration just got better. The way the athletes were brought in, you could almost feel the air of friendship and international cooperation. And, I mean, gigantic mounties, beavers and flying moose? Mounties dancing to Michael Buble? Lumberjacks and Canoes? Beautiful-ladies in Maple-Leaf costumes? The “last number” before the flame was extinguished was addressed to all Canadian stereotypes and… man was it a wonderful way to express the Canadian sense of humour!
The Russians also gave us a little taste of what to expect in 2014 – complete with a satellite orchestral rendition, dancers from the Russian ballet, performers from the Russian circus prancing around in LED-filled hamster balls and an opera singer in a 10ft extended costume… I know I’m stoked to see what Sochi offers in four years.
Regardless of the hitches and tragedy, successes and gold medals, the Vancouver 2010 games will never be forgotten by Canadians – technology has transformed the Olympics forever. Never before has one been able to flip open their phone and check out the medal count, or rewatch clips on-demand on the internet. Never before have fans been able to follow athletes on twitter. What do you think about the games of the Technology age?
Also, don’t forgot the Paralympic Games begin March 12th – so don’t lose your Olympic Spirit because CANADA IS NOT DONE YET! Check here for the Paralympic Schedule.
Youth that Are Awesome Funfact: For those who watched the ceremonies: you know all those white-clad people dancing around and pumping up the crowd? Those are over 500 Grade 9-11 athletes and volunteers from all across BC. Pretty cool, eh?