It’s here !

The official opening day for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.  The Olympic Torch has been circling the Vancouver area for the last five days.  Slowly moving towards the center of Vancouver City proper and the Opening Ceremonies on Friday evening.  It’s hard to describe the mixture of feelings which are apparent in the Vancouver population.  Disinterest to casual commentary have almost been the norm for so long here that it is a bit odd to see people start to gather, dressed in varying forms of ‘red and white’ or official Olympic gear and watch the spectacle of the Olympic Torch paraded down quiet streets in the local communities.  While the crowds look great on TV, they are still well behaved and typically ‘Canadian’ in manner.   We gather in the hundreds to line a couple of blocks of the roadway, pressed into a cramped space to see little more than a glimpse of fire above the heads of the crowd and then quietly disperse back to our lives once the miniature parade has passed on to another street.

The excitement isbuilding…. I can feel it in the people on the streets, see it in the number of Canadian flags finally showing up on car windows, offices and homes.   We may be quiet in our anticipation, but Canadians do really feel a sense of the building momentum.  The anticipation for the opening ceremonies is also building excitement here in Vancouver.  There have been several ‘dress rehersals’ which have been attended by a few thousand people each night this week.  While people are normally a little ‘tight-lipped’ about the details, there are many appreciative comments floating around the city.  A quiet, patriotic feeling is rising and, I think, we are eager to share our pride in being Canadian with the rest of the world.

Tonight, I hope you will join us in feeling some of that pride and (in truth) I hope we Canadians will also take some of that pride with us as well in the next few weeks.  No matter what your thoughts on the games; 

WELCOME:  to the 21st Winter Olympic Games  - Vancouver 2010 !