lame

Well Vancouver lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, boo-hoo. I was pretty impressed they made it to the end in the first place, most Canadians wish the Leafs, Habs or Oilers could get so far.

It's a weird town, I've seen photos from so many onlookers, posting images of cars burning and horrifyingly... a few people getting beaten to a pulp. Toronto Star posted a live viral of a good samaritan protecting a shop front. First I thought, who was this ass**** filming it rather than helping the guy when the lynch mob struck him, and second, what the hell?

Over a game? Destroying a city when Japan survived a horrific earthquake with quiet dignity, and Syria riots for their freedom? Some blame it on only a select few, but from the scores of photos and now... videos posted, it's apparent that a few thousand of Vancouver Canuck fans are nothing more than playground bullies. Goading on others with their chanting and watching others get hurt in the process.

A poor woman reported that as she was trying to get to her car an angry fan jumped on her roof smashing it down. She was quickly engulfed into the crowd when she tried to pull him off.

Surprised? If you've lived in Vancouver, you wouldn't be. Vancouver has a large downtown area that closely resembles "Children of Men" ... is a city with a large prostitution ring (especially considering the small size of the city), and has such an overinflated housing market (jacked up prices by the non-resident wealthy foreign money), that locals can't afford a decent home. The Olympics may have created a beautiful veil of serene calm, but in reality the city is no better (or worse) than any other North American town.

Think small, become small.

Hockey Fever

The Stephen Colbert crowd became indignant when NBC's Bob Costas honestly gave his opinion of why the Winter Olympics were of little interest to many Americans. Should that be very surprising? If you live in the balmy sunshine and have never seen a dash of snow how could you relate? Even worse, he didn't "pander" (as Colbert said it) to the crowd to claim Vancouver as the best Olympic host nation. The audience booed him, and has been slagging him, Colbert, Americans, and the British media on a great deal of forums, site commentary, and blogs showcasing that Canada doesn't lack a few ignorant overly sensitive individuals who can't take a joke.

As happy as I am that Canada is doing well... right now a few friends are getting unbearably smug about the Canadian women's hockey team's victory over USA, and will be absolutely intolerable if we win men's hockey as well. Yet, how many teams actually competed in women's hockey? It's not much of a competition unless a lot of countries can actually kick your ass.

Am I the only one that doesn't think it's not that big of a deal? That's as bad as USA claiming to be the world's best at baseball. Of course they are, none of the other countries care! To be truly impartial, to claim bragging rights as "world's best" you need to win the most popular sport in the world... SOCCER and nothing else. Poor countries, short people, tall people, even war torn countries can make a decent team and do well.

This year the world cup will take place in South Africa (link here to FIFA link), and is probably one of the oldest sports in the world. It's simple enough, and can be traced back to 1004 B.C. Japan and China and also during the Roman empire. The early Olympic games in Rome featured a fifty minute game of fifty four men scrambling to score a goal.

Over 33 million people tune into the 25 day (or more) sporting event, making it more popular than the Olympics, and is even bigger than baseball, American football and basketball combined!

In a way all of these events are a friendly way (usually) to be patriotic. To live vicariously through our athletes as a way of stress relief, fantasy or just plain escapism. Honking horns, waving flags, getting smashed with a few strangers at a local pub, all add to the fever of excitement every once in a while. It's a non-stop party downtown... the euphoria is an all time high, as the lead up to the gold medal hockey game Canada vs. USA reaches a fever pitch. For those poor athletes who haven't gotten much sleep in the village... be happy your events are done, a gold medal will guarantee chaos.

Red and white

What a day...

OOOOhhh.. The Americans thumped our asses in hockey tonight. Granville street must now be up to its ears in depressed drunks tonight. Nothing is sadder than seeing hockey fans cry, even worse when they vomit along the sidewalk area adding a decided stench. I didn't watch the game (yes, I know that's very un-Canadian of me), I'm one of the few who prefers to watch the more obscure sports that involve superhuman guts, endurance, and a bit of artistic flair.

I'm really liking the Olympic outfits lately, makes me want to shop online for a new set of snow pants and mittens. It's incredible how much a country spends on uniforms, not to mention figure skating costumes that look like a cross between a trashy 70's disco outfit and a show girls jumpsuit.

Canada (Virtue, and Moir) has done very well in the ice dance short program and sadly Joannie Rochette has lost her mother recently (She's still determined to compete, I wish her & family the best). Bode finally won his much deserved and earned gold medal in combined, and a phenomenal Slovenian, Petra Majdic won bronze (a few days ago) despite a horrible fall where she fell into a gully. Vancouver shouldn't crow too loudly (since they are still simmering over the International media criticism) just yet since the Slovenian Olympic Committee is considering legal action against the winter Olympics for poor safety precautions that ended with Majdic taken to the hospital with four broken ribs and a collapsed lung. It's been up and down, but that's life. The question is whether everyone can cope with disappointment and get back onto the horse and try again.