As the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games already start to fade from our memories, I have one more Olympic post before moving on to a new topic.  I simply call it:

My Top Ten Moments of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

10. William Shatner telling us about Canadians knowing how to make love in a canoe.

9. Charles Hamelin wins the Gold medal and Marianne St. Gelais runs up to hug him – and he gives her bum a squeeze!

8. Clara Hughes winning the Bronze medal in the 5,000 m Long Track Speed Skating.

7. Marianne St. Gelais’s enthusiasm and wonderful smile! Especially her cheering when Charles was racing.

6. Floating beavers and moose in the closing ceremonies.

5. The display of patriotism across the country and a real feeling of national pride.

4. Jon Montgomery drinking from a pitcher of beer while walking through Whistler Village.

3. Joannie Rochette’s short program, only 2 days after her mother died.

2. The dozens of renditions of “I Believe” highlight reels – made me cry every time.

1. Sidney Crosby’s Gold Goal!

It’s back to the real world for now. It has been a pleasure sharing the Olympics with all of you! And I look forward to hearing about your Olympic moments!

Don’t forget – Thursday night is Networking with Excellence and Integrity.  There are a few spots left, please email me if you’d like a spot.

Own the Podium.  That was the plan for Vancouver 2010. A plan that was almost thrown out the window after 9 days of competition.  Our amazing athletes turned it around, and Canada finished on top of the Gold podium, with 14 gold medals.  More than any other country at these games and at ANY Olympic Games since 1924. Six gold medals were won in the last 48 hours of the games.

In my post from early Saturday morning, I mentioned the ones to watch.  I had no idea they would all win a medal – 4 Gold and 1 Bronze.  Saturday was another wonderful day at the games.  We won 2 Golds within 5 min, first the Men’s Team Pursuit Final, against the USA (we won by 0.20) and second Jasey-Jay Anderson, in Snowboard Giant Slalom. Saturday night, Canadian Curling skip Kevin Martin, completed his domination in the curling tournament with a Gold medal win, 6-3 vs Norway (and their awesome curling pants).  Our 4 man bobsleigh team brought home the bronze.

Sunday was a BIG day across Canada.  Everyone had somewhere to be, whether is was on the streets of Vancouver or Toronto, with friends and family or at the bar or pub. The patriotism seen across the country was absolutely incredible.  We went out to run errands in our neighborhood and people were dressed in Canada gear, and looking to buy more at the Bay. By about 2:30 pm, the country had pretty much shut down, and we started the pre-game show. We had a small gathering at home with friends and family, to watch on our projector (about 80 inches). I have never felt anything like this.

The game started off very tightly, seemed like we might get through the first period without anyone scoring.  Then with only 7:10 remaining in the period, Jonathan Toews scored.  First period ended with Canada 1-0 lead over the USA. Second period was even better, Corey Perry scored goal #2 and we were up by 2.  The US were not going down without a fight, and responded with a goal late in the 2nd.  We went in the the 3rd period, up by 1 goal.  With less than 30 sec left in the game, the US scored to tie 2-2.  Here’s what happened at our place when this occur.  Ironically, the pizza arrived at EXACTLY the same time!

The stress was felt across the nation. We would be going into overtime. One 20 min period of 4 on 4 hockey, sudden-death (first goal wins it all).

I don’t know what was said in the dressing room at the intermission, but it made a difference for our Canadian men, because they came out stronger and more determined (if that was even possible). Sidney Crosby scored the Gold medal goal only a few minutes into the period.  It was the absolute icing on the cake for Canada’s most successful Olympics ever.

This was such a special Olympics for so many reasons. It brought our country together in a way that I’ve never seen in my lifetime. We showed the world that yes, Canadians may be quirky with our poutine and our toques, but we are also fiercely proud to wear the maple leaf!

I hope everyone enjoyed watching the game as much as we did, minor heart attack and all.  Yesterday on CTV they were asking everyone what their favorite moment of the games was.  Now I think the answer for most people just might be Sidney Crosby’s Gold medal goal.

What was your favorite moment over the past two weeks?

I will missing blogging about the Olympics, but I promise to keep things interesting as we move from the cold Canadian winter into spring.

What an amazing Friday night at the Olympics! Talk about Own the Podium – Canada leads the Gold medal count with 10 Golds! We are now in 3rd position in the medal standings, with 21 medals, behind USA and Germany.  I am so proud of our Canadian athletes, who have been able to deliver the results under tremendous pressure – and of course tremendous support as well.  And we are still in a position to earn a minimum of at least 3 more medals (Gold or Silver) – details in What to Watch.

The first event of the evening was the Gold medal match in Women’s Curling, Canada vs Sweden.  The Swedish skip is the defending Gold medalist, World Champion and has a 76% winning record in over 200 international games.  A tough record to contend with.  Cheryl Bernard, Canada’s beautiful and very talented skip, was a rookie coming into these games.  I will admit, I have a new respect for curling after watching this match. It was a great game! Canada actually stole points from 2 different ends, and ended up with a 6-5 lead in the 10th end.  A mistake by Canada allowed Sweden to tie.  They went into an extra end, Canada with the hammer (last shot). Sadly, it was not to be, and the Swedes had 2 rocks in the house when Bernard took her last shot, she cleared one, but didn’t have enough to clear the other. Silver medal for the Canadian team.  You could see the disappointment in their faces when they accepted their medals.  It’s a tough position to be in – in team sports the Silver medal is actually the loser (Bronze had to win their game for the medal).  It’s the first time Canada has ever gotten the Silver in Women’s Curling and for Bernard’s first visit the Olympics – we are so proud of what she accomplished!

The main event started a few minutes later, Men’s Semi-Final Hockey, Canada vs Slovakia. WHAT A GAME!! Things looked really good in the first period, Canada off to a great start with a 2-0 lead after the 1st period.  The Slovaks played tough game, really crowding the neutral zone and making it nearly impossible for Canada to break away.  The Canadians still out-shot the Slovaks nearly 2-1 through the 2nd period.  End of the second period, Canada leads 3-0.  As the 3rd period wore on, you could tell that the Slovaks were down, but not out. Just the opposite, they seemed to be gaining strength and the passion they are known for was really shining through.  As the crowd started to cheer “we want U.S.A.” (i.e. to play them in the Gold medal game), Slovakia scored.  The game continued, the puck moving from one end to the other, Canada taking the shots but nothing in the net.  A short time later, Slovakia scores – again! Now we are starting to feel it – 3-2, with about 5 min left in the period. They were not going down with a a very tough fight. The last minute of the game was a total nail biter. It was amazing (yes, we were yelling at the screen).  As the seconds dwindling and the puck was dangerously in the Canadian end, we held them off and the buzzer sounded. I believe there was a sign of relief from the crowd.  Canada wins, 3-2 and moves on to the Gold Medal game against the USA.

Meanwhile, our men were dominating in Short Track speed skating.  Having yet to get a medal, they were hungry.  We are known for our very powerful short track speed skaters and this year is no exception.  During the intermissions of the hockey game, we watched the men’s races.  First, the 500 m sprint.  Two Canadians in the final, Charles Hamelin and Francois Louis-Tremblay.  Ranked 1 and 2 in the world, respectively. The famous Apolo Ono from the US was also in the race.  Short Track is such a crazy spot with really strict rules about passing, touching and interfering with other skaters. About 20 m from the finish line, the Korean wiped out, knocked Louis-Tremblay down with him and Hamelin stumbled across the line first, Ono behind him for silver.  The Korean skater actually slid across the line on his side, followed by Louis-Tremblay.  It looked like it would be Gold for Hamelin and 4th for Louis-Tremblay.  The officials reviewed the tape of the fall, and ruled that Ono had impeded the Korean skater. He was disqualified, which meant that now the Korean skater received the Silver and Louis-Tremblay, the Bronze.

Still on a high from their double medal win in the 500m. The Canadian Men’s team dominated the 5000m Relay a few hours later. It’s like roller-derby on ice if you haven’t seen it before. I love it! All of the team were VERY careful in this race, not to get DQ. There were 5 teams in the final, which makes it quite crowded. Canada, Korea, China, USA and France.  About half way through the race, the Canadians took over the lead position and never looked back. They had a great strategy of doing their exchanges on the opposite side of the rink from the Koreans (in 2nd) and it really worked in their favor, especially in such a crowed race.  Another Gold medal for Canada!!

Total for Friday night: 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze and the Men’s Hockey advance to the final.

What to watch:

• Speed Skating Men’s Team Pursuit Final, Canada vs US, 3:30 EST
• Curling Men’s Gold Medal Game vs Norway, 6 pm EST
• 4 man bobsleigh sitting in 2nd place after 2 runs
• Jasey-Jay Anderson, Snowboard Giant Slalom starting at 3 pm EST
• Sunday – Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game, Canada vs US 3:15 pm EST

We are guaranteed 3 medals, either Silver or Gold.  What an impressive last two days of the games.  Where will you be on Sunday afternoon? We’ll be watching on our big screen, with friends and family, as Canada meets the USA again, this time for the Gold!!

Have a great weekend everyone and I’ll catch you on Monday for the recap.

What a different experience this Olympics has been, especially in terms of technology. Two years ago, during the Summer Olympics, Twitter was still in its infancy.  iPhone was still new to Canada. Streaming web live was still a bit painful. Fast forward to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games: iPhones seem to be everywhere, Twitter has truly become a global phenomenon, and the live web stream provided by the CTV/Rogers Media consortium has been excellent.

One of the things I have really been enjoying is connecting with people from all over the world, in real time, on Twitter. There is something about feeling like you are connected not only across Canada but to Canadians in other countries when you are cheering GO Canada GO! from your living room.  And it’s great to see others cheering for their countries and their athletes.  It’s all about the perspective I mentioned in an earlier post.

Last night should have been called Terrific Thursday.  Gold medal game – Women’s Hockey – Canada defeats USA 2 – 0.  Three Olympics in a row! The men looked on – and they look HUNGRY for their own Gold Medal. And Joannie Rochette won a Bronze medal in Women’s Figure Skating.  I did stay up to watch her skate, it was hard not too.  What a phenomenal accomplishment! Anyone else remember when Elizabeth Manley won the Silver medal in 1988? That was the last time a Canadian woman stood on the podium in singles Figure Skating.

Setting up today and tomorrow – wow – we still have many medal opportunities.  Here’s the summary for you:

• Canada vs Slovakia – Men’s Hockey 9:30 pm EST
• USA vs Finland – Men’s Hockey 3:00 pm EST
• Canada vs Sweden – Women’s Curling 6 pm EST
• Short Track Speed Skating – 500m Men’s 9 pm EST
• Short Track Speed Skating – 5,000 m Men’s relay 10:50 EST
• Other events today include 4 man Bobsleigh, Alpine Skiing (slalom) and Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom

Should be a great few days to cap off an already amazing Winter Games for Canada.

Stay tuned, I may publish another post tomorrow as we move into the final days of the games to keep you all up to date, in case you’re not as obsessed as I am.

Quick reminder – email me to register for Networking With Excellence and Integrity on Thursday March 4th, 7 pm @Burlington Central Library.

Have a super day and catch some of you on Twitter!

What can I say about Women’s Wonderful Wednesday? After an amazing day by our women in the Olympics, we are tied with the US and Germany with a total of 7 Gold Medals. Maybe it’s not too late to give up on Own the Podium?  And the domination of our Men’s Hockey team against Russia really was the icing on the cake.

Now I do realize that there are many other important things going on in the world, there is still a disaster in Haiti, we are still dealing with a recession and housing crisis and the winter weather is still playing havoc in the US and Canada – but isn’t it way more fun to enjoy the Olympics right now?  I think that more than anything, we all needed a feel-good story. 2009 was a very difficult year for so many people, especially my generation who had yet to live through a recession (almost depression) as adults. There has already been a change of energy in 2010, and you can feel that people are more optimistic and more open to taking a bit of risk and having more fun too!

I have to admit, I am really blessed to have a split schedule, so that I can watch some of the events in the afternoon when I’m not teaching that afternoon.  Yesterday, I found it hard to tear myself away from the computer (where I watch the games thanks to CTV) and even spent time watching tv at the mall in between clients! Anyone else having the same issues?

Just in case you missed it, or live under a rock, or aren’t as obsessed with Canada – here are the highlights from Wednesday Feb 24:

• Women’s Bobsleigh Gold – Kaillie Humphres and Heather Moyse
• Women’s Bobsleigh Silver – Shelly-Ann Brown and Helen Upperton
• Women’s Long Track 5000 m – Clara Hughes
• Women’s Short Track 3000m relay – Marianne St-Gelais, Tania Vicent, Jessica Gregg, Kalyna Roberge
• Canada vs Russia – Men’s Hockey Quarter Final- 7 -3 Canada!

Clara Hughes is truly a phenomenal athlete.  She is the only athlete in the world to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. What a way to end her Olympic career!

What is even more special is that we have many more true medal chances in the last few days of the games. Here are some of the highlights of what is coming up:

• Women’s Hockey Gold Medal Game – Canada vs USA 6:30 pm EST
• Curling Semi-Finals – Women’s vs Switzerland @ noon EST
• Curling Semi-Finals – Men’s vs Sweden @ 5 pm EST
• Joannie Rochette skates the long program in Women’s Figure Skating, 8 pm EST – She is currently 3rd
• Men’s Aerials Finals – 3 Canadians competing at 9 pm EST
• Friday night – Men’s Hockey Semi-Final Canada vs Slovakia (big upset here as well – Sweden is out) 9:30 EST
• Short Track – there are events for both women and men on Friday, starting at 9 pm EST

Hope that helps you plan out the next two evenings. Time to get back to work! Don’t forget – next week is the Networking with Excellence and Integrity seminar, on March 4th.  Email info@julieboyer.com to confirm your spot.

Here’s to a Terrific Thursday for Canadian Olympians!