2010 Vancouver Olympic & Paralympic Super-Thread

[Rusty Gull]

The size felt perfect. I would rather be in a sold-out 5,000 seat venue than a 15,000 seater with huge swathes of empty seats. The Associated Press compared the atmosphere to a Duke-UNC basketball game. Now -that- is a compliment. Curling is not a marquee Olympic event, but I think this tournament will be one of the feel-good stories from the Games. There were huge cheering contingents for the US and Japan as well.

[mr.x]

The 6,000 seat curling venue we have is the largest in Olympic history. The curling venues in Torino and Salt Lake were only about 3,000.

[SpongeG]

i have no idea why they would want such a huge venue for it but some were saying it should have fit 15,000 which seems excessive

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gull

Took in the women's curling this afternoon. Vancouver should be proud - sold-out crowd, very loud and rowdy - for curling, LOL! There were also scalpers, which was funny.

One of the better venues in terms of organization, security, concessions, etc. Major line-ups at King Ed station, unfortunately, so many people were walking all the way to City Hall station.

Shhhhhh!
don't tell anyone they can walk over to Main St and catch a bus to Main St SkyTrain station.
Its a secret that only us locals know about.

[Rusty Gull]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

Shhhhhh!
don't tell anyone they can walk over to Main St and catch a bus to Main St SkyTrain station.
Its a secret that only us locals know about.

That's a good one. Perhaps they should have sent some people in that direction - it really was too crowded at King Ed.

By the way, some good momentum for the curling competition on top of Sunday's episode of Simpsons. It is the theme for today's Google as well.

[djun]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the curlers think its too small even the canadian ones said something negative about it

Apparently this venue is too small to host the Brier in Canada, so those critical of the size were wondering why this venue is smaller than the 15000 for the Brier when considering that the Olympics is much bigger than the Brier.

But yes, as X said, this venue is bigger than those in the past. Why not make a venue fit 15000? This building is to be converted into a community centre after the Games, so fitting more than 6000 seats wasn't probably very feasible.

[djun]

Concert at David Lam cancelled tonight due to a barricade/guard rail that collapsed...

Anyone have more information?

[SpongeG]

NBC News Notes Malfunctioning ‘Environmentally Friendly’ Machines Frustrate Olympics

By Brent Baker (Bio | Archive)
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 02:15 ET



In a Tuesday NBC Nightly News story, reporter Ron Mott actually acknowledged that the decision to use “environmentally friendly” ice resurfacing machines “that kept breaking down” had led to lengthy delays for speed skating competitions at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In the piece on problems at the games, Mott reported:
In the past two days, men's speed skating was slowed to a standstill because of poor ice conditions, further complicated by the environmentally friendly machines, used in place of the tried and true Zamboni, that kept breaking down. A Zamboni is being brought in from Calgary.


On USAToday.com, Tom Weir explained the malfunctions, “that delayed the women's 3,000 meters Sunday and which threatened to postpone the men's 500 Monday were unprecedented at Olympic speedskating,” and were caused by Canada putting “green” interests ahead of reliability:
The problems suffered by Olympia brand resurfacers brought into question the decision of the Vancouver Olympics to be as green as possible, and use electric-powered machines to groom the ice. To prevent further problems, a traditional, propane-powered Zamboni has been trucked in from Calgary

...

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-b...chines-frustra

[SpongeG]

Concert cancelled after crowd surge collapses barricades

Date: Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010 11:12 PM PT


A free concert by Alexisonfire was cancelled Tuesday night after the crowd surged forward and caused the barricades near the stage to collapse. Ten people were sent to hospital with non-critical injuries. (Darren Goodridge, special to ctvbc.ca)


A free concert by Alexisonfire at Vancouver's LiveCity Yaletown in David Lam Park came to an abrupt halt Tuesday night when a mass of spectators surged forward, causing barricades near the stage to collapse and sending people tumbling to the ground.


The band was 10 to 15 seconds into their first tune when chaos erupted, said witness Darren Goodridge.


"It was a mass of people rushing forward, and falling everywhere," he told ctvbc.ca by phone.


Goodridge, 28, of Vancouver, said he saw about 30 to 40 people fall to the ground on top of one another.


Several people suffered what appeared to be leg or ankle injuries, he said.


Officials told CTV News 10 people were taken to local hospitals with non-critical injuries.


The band decided not to proceed with the concert, telling the crowd that they didn't feel it would be safe to continue, Goodridge said.


People were disappointed, but they understood, he said.




More to come…

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/l...ritishColumbia

[Yume-sama]

I got on Russian TV tonight! I'm famous in Russia!!

I was wearing an Ovechkin jersey, and some random girl a Crosby jersey, they asked us to pose together.

[Pennywise604]

Omfg! Since I go to the Van's Warped Tour every single year, whether at T-Bird or at the Gorge, I am actually not surprised that this happened with Alexisonfire. Look at those piece of s*** barricades. AOF plays a loud and fast type of pop/punk music. I've seen them play a few times, and those tiny barricades wouldn't ever stand a chance. What the f*** were they thinking using them? AOF puts on a show, that if you can't stand on your feet get the f*** away from the front. This is embarrasing, I really hope those people are okay. What f***ing idiot decided those weak barricades were a good idea?

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by Pennywise604

Omfg! Since I go to the Van's Warped Tour every single year, whether at T-Bird or at the Gorge, I am actually not surprised that this happened with Alexisonfire. Look at those piece of s*** barricades. AOF plays a loud and fast type of pop/punk music. I've seen them play a few times, and those tiny barricades wouldn't ever stand a chance. What the f*** were they thinking using them? AOF puts on a show, that if you can't stand on your feet get the f*** away from the front. This is embarrasing, I really hope those people are okay. What f***ing idiot decided those weak barricades were a good idea?

I often say the biggest mistake people can make is assuming the general public is capable of breathing without being reminded to.

People are dumb. People in power should know this by now. Unless they're dumb, too.

[Yume-sama]

My most favorite picture of the night! I neglected to take pictures of the Canada game. Let's say I was pre-occupied.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4364283129/

Tomorrow I have seats in the second deck for Finland vs. Belarus, so hopefully I'll have some good non-obstructed photos. Curse you, protective netting!

[s211]

And how hard would it be to wash down the streets and sidewalks overnight? I lost count of the number of pools of puke I had to detour around this AM on my walk to work.

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by s211

And how hard would it be to wash down the streets and sidewalks overnight? I lost count of the number of pools of puke I had to detour around this AM on my walk to work.

Given how cold it was overnight, the water would probably have just frozen..

[subdude]

Some Olympic crowd shots from last night:

Photos by me












(projection on side of Sears)

[Pennywise604]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I often say the biggest mistake people can make is assuming the general public is capable of breathing without being reminded to.

People are dumb. People in power should know this by now. Unless they're dumb, too.

I really hope this doesn't happen again. Alexisonfire is very, very loyal to their fans. I bet they felt horrible for having to cancel their show, but safety is always first. It'd be pretty brutal to hear of someone dying by being trampled on. Proper restraints are always needed.

[Zassk]

Nobody died in this case... There were two broken bones and several soft tissue injuries.

[Yume-sama]

I saw George Clooney and Nicole Kidman arriving to the Hotel Vancouver where they are staying

There are a lot of celebs from around the World staying there, along with the IOC.

[Stingray2004]

Another day, another sounding from a public opinion pollster, this time Angus Reid Strategies about Metro Vancouver's thoughts:

Ambivalence Gives Way to Olympic Enthusiasm in Metro Vancouver
Published on Feb 17 - 2010

Following the first few days of the Winter Olympics, residents of the host cities have become more enthusiastic about the games, and a smaller proportion is claiming that the event is an inconvenience to their day-to-day lives, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

Overall, 50 per cent of respondents in Metro Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky corridor, including Whistler, claim to be excited about the Olympics and not inconvenienced in their day-to-day lives.

About one-in-six respondents (16%, down eight points) say they are excited about the Olympics but do see them as an inconvenience to their day-to-day lives.

[Total of 66% excited about Olympics]

Respondents continue to voice overwhelmingly positive feelings when assessing the Canadian athletes who are taking part in the Vancouver Winter Olympics: Proud to be Canadian (76%), Enthusiasm (61%), Joy (48%) and Trust (15%) remain the words that are used the most.

Compared to last week, more respondents hold positive feelings about the event itself. Proud to be Canadian (66%, up 11 points), Enthusiasm (45%) and Joy (33%, up four points) garner the most mentions. Indifference (21%) is fourth on the list, but is eight points lower than last week.

http://www.visioncritical.com/2010/0...tro-vancouver/

And an Angus Reid Strategies poll of Canadians:

Canadians Provide High Marks to Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony

A majority of Canadians (55%) give the event marks that range from 8 to 10, while 37 per cent provide average scores (from 4 to 7) and six per cent issue low grades (from 1 to 3).

Across the country, Canadians express positive feelings about the Canadian athletes who are taking part in the Vancouver Winter Olympics: Proud to be Canadian (77%), Enthusiasm (67%), Joy (57%) and Trust (34%) are the words most commonly associated with the athletes.

http://www.visioncritical.com/2010/0...ning-ceremony/

I hope the media is listening!