2010 Winter Olympics: Spectator's perspective

In the Mix of Vancouver’s Kicks

It is a rare occurrence for one to attend and witness an event that carries the magnitude as awe-inspiring the Olympic Games, but Angela Graves, her husband and her two children, ages 11 and 15, were few of the lucky spectators who were able to make the trip from their home in Renton, Washington to Vancouver to view such an extraordinary display of athletic competition.

It was a late morning start, just about 10 o’clock am, when the Graves family left their home heading north.  Crossing the border was no trouble, no lines and no hold ups kept the small family of four from pushing onward the 153 mile drive to the hosting city of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.  Once arriving in frosty Canada, the family decided to stop and spend the night in a small motel located in the city of White Rock, just across the border and 126 miles from their home town.

“We were out of the way of all the continual craziness, yet close enough to do what we want,” said Angela as she and her family acquainted themselves to their new Canadian setting.  After a small dinner of fish and chips, the family’s first Olympic stop would be the curling venue.

The curling event spawned a crowd that was nothing less than thrilled and delighted.  The wave broke out amongst the yelling and cheering spectators as they cheered not only for Canada, the country from which most spectators resided in, but for every athlete.

“Even the French got a few cheers,” she said.

 The next day, Angela and her family set off once again from their motel room in White Rock to the Olympic city for another day of roaring excitement.  Once in the city, parking was not too difficult to find and the family walked, “and walked and walked.”

After visiting the waterfront and witnessing the Olympic Flame,  they did as any spectator of the Olympic Games would do and headed straight to the Olympic Superstore to snag souvenirs of this extraordinary event.  They finally found and purchased their assorted, and probably overpriced, merchandise and gently ignored the five hour line for the ‘free zip-line rides’ for they did not have five spare hours that day.

 If one has ever been alive, one knows that food is a must and this family was growing hungry, yearning for a meal.  Pizza, traditional Canadian cuisine was a natural choice and Graves were yet again refueled and ready for action.  And there was no place where action could be found quite like a Canadian Olympic Hockey Game.

Finland vs. Germany and the fans were behaving as any hockey junkie would at such an event.  Sharing a row with a Russian couple, Squire, 15, partook in a lovely conversation with a fellow visitor to the nation of Canada.

For spectators, the Olympic Games are much more than the events themselves, but are the interactions between the races and nationalities that come together in healthy, spirited competition.  The Graves had not only witnessed the athletes but also culmination of combined cultures to truly make the 2010 Winter Olympic Games a remarkable moment in human history.