It always comes down to weather, here in these parts. It has humbled massive efforts to fix mountain courses and it has made folks snappish, too. No one here can claim immunity from seasonal affective disorder, which is a very Vancouver thing.
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Gloom over Games is beginning to lift
- February 17, 2010 10:38 PM |
- By Noah Love
Story provided by
By Brian Hutchinson, National Post
VANCOUVER -- It always comes down to weather, here in these parts. It has humbled massive efforts to fix mountain courses and it has made folks snappish, too. No one here can claim immunity from seasonal affective disorder, which is a very Vancouver thing.
The Games bashing started almost seconds after a moving but technically imperfect opening ceremony; some observers even declared these Olympics are cursed. The sight of Wayne Gretzky standing in the rain, clutching an Olympic torch, pushed a few reviewers into apoplectic fits. And on it went.
Hand wringing, angry dispatches, notes of Canadian self-loathing in each rehash of some half-baked, dismissive British take.
Trust the unruly colonials not to get it right. Pish posh.
Yesterday, the clouds parted. The gloom over these 2010 Olympic Winter Games lifted. The sun took over and hallelujah, the Debbie Downers in the press corps for a moment closed their yaps.
It helped that VANOC, the behemoth Vancouver organizing committee that everybody loves to hate, made amends for an earlier mistake. Fencing off the outdoor cauldron, the one the Great One lit, was an avoidable gaffe, and spinning their way out of the mess hadn't worked. VANOC spokespeople suggested the needless cauldron inaccessibility had become a burning issue only because so many people want to approach the flames and feel its warmth.
The fence has not come down; however, it was moved closer to the cauldron yesterday and gaps were made, the better to take snaps.
People were invited onto a pedestrian-friendly rooftop at Jack Poole Plaza, about 30 metres from where the cauldron sits, close enough to hear the roar from its four gas-fired burners. No obstructions, there; Vancouver's brand new, grass-roofed convention centre provides the backdrop. Behind that, the waterfront and snow-capped North Shore peaks.
From this roof, the city looks its best. "Ooooh, it's so beautiful," cooed Muriel Phillips, up from Seattle for the day. She shoved a camera into the hands of a stranger. "Here, take my picture. Make sure to get that torch thing in it."
Why no one had thought earlier to open up the rooftop is anybody's guess; it no longer matters. News about the viewing platform quickly spread. An hour before noon, a 20-minute line had formed.
"That fence was crap," said Donovin Hartman, shaking his head. He was visiting the plaza with his wife Kim. "It's still in the way, if you ask me. And I see a lot of cops standing around doing nothing. But for the most part I'd say the whole experience down here is pretty cool. If you put in the effort to look for [more activities], it's awesome."
The Hartmans made a list of free things to see and do in Vancouver during the Games. Their list is several pages long.
Torontonians Corrin Farrow and Diana Brown were bubbling over. "Everything's been fabulous," said Ms. Farrow, who is visiting Vancouver for her first time. "The weather is great, people are friendly and the transit system works. People were handing out hot chocolate at the [rapid transit] Sky Train station last night. I loved that."
Now ubiquitous, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell wandered past, clutching a bag of Olympic pins. No one in the plaza heckled or jeered; the sun was beating down. People wanted the Premier in their photos, too.
Photo: The Olympic Flame burns in the cauldron situated behind a wire fence next to Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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