Showtime!

Last night, I took a bus into Whistler to check out the nightlife, and tear it up with Ottawa-Matt, Ottawa-James, and Colorado-Craig. We had a good time mixing it up with all sorts of folks, and stayed out until they turned the ugly lights on. An Austrian reporter came over to photograph our nachos, because apparently, they don't have nachos like we do.

Today was an early start, which we kicked off with a birthday cake for our VMO (Venue Medical Officer, or boss). The Men's Downhill was set to kick off at 10:30, and we were in our operational positions for the 7:30 arrival of the fans. The fans were letting their freak flags fly, and were out in full force. The Swiss fans are probably the craziest, but there were a handfull of Norweigan nutbars too (see Goat Lady).

I was stationed on the walking path up to the grandstand. It's about a 1km hike, all uphill, for those brave souls who opted not to take the chairlift. Two cheerleaders were also posted at my station, to encourage people as they made the grueling hike up.

Once the fans were all in, I moved it on up to the lower compound, to watch the excitement. The timing flats (finish line) are positioned such that you watch the racer on the screen for the first 90 seconds, and then watch him huck two huge airs before tucking into the finish. These guys were moving fast and going big.




Most folks left early, once their medal hopes had been dashed, so I had to scramble back to my post until the venue was empty.

Tomorrow is Men's SuperCombined, with a Lady's DH training during the course changeover. I have to catch a bus at 4:20, and probably won't get home until past 7:00.

So two things I should tell you about in a non-narrative sense:

I know that I geek out about the Olympics on TV, because they have a special energy and excitement about them, that I'm sure you're all familiar with. If you take that vibe, and multiply it by about 10,000, you'd have a notion of what it's like out here. This place is absolutely abuzz. There is so much going on all of the time, that even when you're doing or watching something absolutely amazing, you feel like you're missing out on something else. Tonight for example, I had to decide between partying at Swiss House in Whistler, a Sloan Concert at Atlantic House in Vancouver, or watching the games at the bar in Squamish. I think that due to the early start, it'll be watching the games, but it's always minute to minute.

Secondly, the foreign fans are of a completely different breed. The alpine events are huge in Europe, and the fans come decked out head to toe in their colours. Costumes, cowbells, singing, chanting, waving flags, and on and on. The Swiss are absolute maniacs, as I mentioned above. They came out in the largest numbers, started drinking the earliest, had the biggest cowbells, and stayed the latest. The Norweigan fans are crazy about their man too, waving billygoat flags and t-shirts... or dressing up as goats.