Fixated

It stared with what was to be just a bit of Women's Hockey. After enjoying the 18 to 0 drubbing the Canadian girls gave the Slovakian women, I watched some speed skating. I got a bit hooked and then the women's moguls came on and by the time I witnessed Jennifer Heil win a silver medal, I had spent several hours in front of the TV.
I realised that for the very first time, I was able to watch an Olympic event in my own time zone. This has some good advantages. I also saw what a fantastic turnout the venues are getting and it makes me proud and happy that we do not have to populate the stands with zombies the way the Chinese did in the summer Olympics. Of course, we as polite Canadians are being good hosts by cheering all the athletes, in the spirit of good sportsmanship and hospitality. And, in spite of the warm rains, Cypress bowl is still able to have some snow, even though it came from Manning Park.
I keep thinking about that torch run at the end of the opening ceremonies last night. It has to be one of the lamest finishes, to what was a fantastic program, that I have ever seen. I thought the Olympics was about athleticism. Here we have a 'has been' hockey player riding in the back of a pickup truck, in the rain, trying to keep the torch burning. It looked like a bit of a red-neck idea to me. And didn't riding in the back of a pick-up result in Rick Hansen's spinal cord injury? After all the fantastic artistry and showmanship of the ceremonies, I guess they just ran out of ideas. Let's hope they do better when they close shop in a few weeks.