These games should have been in Calgary!

[-TC-]

Calgary had a turn with the winter olympics

Vancouver is a beautiful venue for the olympics, the weather is unseasonably warm there right now, that's just bad luck. the issues with the opening ceremonies were embarrassing but there is only so much risk you can mitigate, the zamboni stuff was, it appears, to be a failure in attention to detail...stuff happens.

It's not a failure by a long stretch

[grambo]

Originally Posted by Dan02

These Olympics certainly should not have been held in Calgary, that being said as a Canadian I've been pretty embarassed by all the technical problems and issues with the quality of the ski venues. But this I blame on the IOC, they need to quit giving the Winter Olympics to cities which don't get winter.

I'm sorry but the venue for the alpine events (Whistler) has the best and most exciting downhill/super-G course in Canada, with the downhill being a marquee event for the winter games. Weather is always an issue there (which is one reason why they stopped having FIS World Cup events for a while), but it is being managed through the 16 days.

Calgary and Vancouver are the only two cities in Canada that could host the winter games, and I'm happy to see it in Vancouver. The downhill yesterday was awesome (and we should be proud of Guay for finishing 5th, super tight race), men's moguls was epic, exciting 500M speed skate last night (aside from the ice problems).

Also I want to note the online streaming coverage is awesome, very good quality video/audio with zero buffering issues, they must be spending a ton on bandwidth.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

its comical that you say Vancouver has an inferiority complex after you ripped the city in a thread saying the games should have been in Calgary

pot meet kettle

Rofl. I made four posts so far.

The first called into question the idea of repeating host cities, and saying Vancouver deserves its shot.

The second was informational on the future of the Richmond Olympic oval.

The third questioned whether Vancouver was "as beautiful" as many European cities with real history.

The fourth ripped the Vancouver posters rushing to convince themselves their city is good.

If you think calling Vancouver one of the better looking cities in North America, but not the best in the world is "ripping" Vancouver, then the only thing you have done is proven my argument for me.

Thanks.

[Textcritic]

I live close to Vancouver and I love living here. I'm thrilled that Canada has now had the opportunity to once again host an Olympic games, and feel privileged to have lived in close proximity to two such events now.

Having said that, I do believe that Vancouver was something of an odd choice, but certainly not unprecedented. While I think it is great that the Olympic games are here, I do not believe that Vancouver presents the best venues for the games in large part because of its climate and geography. It is similar to Nagano in that regard—but this will not diminish the fact that the 2010 Olympics will be remembered as a huge success and a triumph for this city and this country. I believe the best choice for the Winter Olympics is always a city that showcases the best elements of winter; i.e. snow and ice. It's the same reason why I believe that warmer cities are also better choices to host the summer games. Personally, I thought the Games should go to QC, which I feel has the potential to be another Lillehammer as an Olympic host city.

I expect that the next Canadian city to host the Winter Olympics will likely be Quebec, and that the games will return to Calgary at some point after that.

[Dwight_K_Schrute]

It seems to me that there are some people on here who want these games to fail because they don't like internet Canucks fans.

That's pretty sad. These games have nothing to do with the Canucks or their stupid fans.

[MelBridgeman]

This kind of sounds like what is said in Vancouver every year...

" The cup should of been ours!!! "

[Phil Ivey]

I'm loving the atmosphere downtown. Beautiful weather..everyone is coming out wearing their Red & White or whatever country they're from.

Vancouver is regarded as one of the top cities in the world and with the beautiful scenery here I'm not suprised of the jealousy. Whatever, at least were winning gold medals here.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Dwight_K_Schrute

It seems to me that there are some people on here who want these games to fail because they don't like internet Canucks fans.

Honestly, I don't think it is a case of "wanting" the games to fail, but "expecting" there to be issues.

Concerns over weather and protesters were identified years ago, and unfortunately have come to pass.

The GREEN! Olympia machine is just hilarious bad luck. The cauldron failure was comical. The only outright failure from VANOC was the design of the luge/bobsled track and the inability to deal with safety concerns raised until after someone lost their life. But hell, Calgary could easily have suffered the same fate - Chinook winds sent a ski jumper into a camera bay.

Overall, I think the commentary is teasing as much as anything else. But, as the ESPN article showed, a lot of us have great difficulty laughing at ourselves.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Dwight_K_Schrute

It seems to me that there are some people on here who want these games to fail because they don't like internet Canucks fans.

That's pretty sad. These games have nothing to do with the Canucks or their stupid fans.

Agreed. Some of these people also dont realize that the games don't belong to Vancouver alone, it is Canada that's hosting them. To have that much hostility for something that all Canadians should be excited about is pretty sad.

I get wrapped up in hockey and sports rivalries as much as anyone, but when you can't turn that switch off at the appropriate times, you have issues.

[cheevers]

I know its crazy but it is possible to not only love Calgary and the Flames, but at the same time hate the Canucks but love Vancouver. Its a beautiful city, the olympics have been fantastic with the exception of the luge incident and people should quit whining and enjoy the fact that the olympics are in a Canadian city in close proximity. Something that will likely not happen in for atleast another 30 years.

[Meers]

This thread strikes me as not only a tad negative, but asking for a rhetorical s**t kicking. To wit:

Calgary 1988 Games: 0 Canadian gold medals

Vancouver 2010 Games: 2 Canadian gold medals (and counting).

Yeah, so I could see how you could characterise the 2010 Games as a failure. If, that is, you were from Norway, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands or any of the 11 countries that out-medaled Canada in 1988 . . .

Could it be that Calgary's olympic crowds - like some CP posters - were so negative that it discouraged Canada's athletes in 1988?

I won't answer that question. Instead, I'll simply thank Vancouverites for having been so positive and supportive of Canada's athletes.

[Diet Water]

Originally Posted by Meers

This thread strikes me as not only a tad negative, but asking for a rhetorical s**t kicking. To wit:

Calgary 1988 Games: 0 Canadian gold medals

Vancouver 2010 Games: 2 Canadian gold medals (and counting).

Yeah, so I could see how you could characterise the 2010 Games as a failure. If, that is, you were from Norway, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands or any of the 11 countries that out-medaled Canada in 1988 . . .

Could it be that Calgary's olympic crowds - like some CP posters - were so negative that it discouraged Canada's athletes in 1988?

I won't answer that question. Instead, I'll simply thank Vancouverites for having been so positive and supportive of Canada's athletes.

Dumbest post in a dumb thread, good for you.

[grambo]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I live close to Vancouver and I love living here. I'm thrilled that Canada has now had the opportunity to once again host an Olympic games, and feel privileged to have lived in close proximity to two such events now.

Having said that, I do believe that Vancouver was something of an odd choice, but certainly not unprecedented. While I think it is great that the Olympic games are here, I do not believe that Vancouver presents the best venues for the games in large part because of its climate and geography. It is similar to Nagano in that regard—but this will not diminish the fact that the 2010 Olympics will be remembered as a huge success and a triumph for this city and this country. I believe the best choice for the Winter Olympics is always a city that showcases the best elements of winter; i.e. snow and ice. It's the same reason why I believe that warmer cities are also better choices to host the summer games. Personally, I thought the Games should go to QC, which I feel has the potential to be another Lillehammer as an Olympic host city.

I expect that the next Canadian city to host the Winter Olympics will likely be Quebec, and that the games will return to Calgary at some point after that.

Hell no, QC does not have a legit downhill course. Really, Calgary and Vancouver are the only choices as they are the only cities close (<200km) to a real downhill course. As for quality of the city, I grew up Calgary, 25/28 years there and love the place, but I think Vancouver is a better city to live in. Calgary has the upper hand with the economy/job market though. Vancouver bashing in this thread is comical.

[Hemi-Cuda]

that head VANOC official that CTV just had on seemed a little stubborn. zero contingency plans to move events from Cypress if the weather issues get worse (and they will, with record temperatures forecast), and he just seemed unprepared for these weather issues that seemingly everyone else in Canada expected. sure this is a warmer than normal winter for Vancouver, but even their worst winters are still mild in comparison with the rest of the country

the golden rule for any event is to prepare for the worst, hope for the best. VANOC (note: blaming the organizers, not the city) knew exactly what they were getting into when they put in the original bid for the games, and their lack of preparedness so far is just sad

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by Meers

This thread strikes me as not only a tad negative, but asking for a rhetorical s**t kicking. To wit:

Calgary 1988 Games: 0 Canadian gold medals

Vancouver 2010 Games: 2 Canadian gold medals (and counting).

Yeah, so I could see how you could characterise the 2010 Games as a failure. If, that is, you were from Norway, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands or any of the 11 countries that out-medaled Canada in 1988 . . .

Could it be that Calgary's olympic crowds - like some CP posters - were so negative that it discouraged Canada's athletes in 1988?

I won't answer that question. Instead, I'll simply thank Vancouverites for having been so positive and supportive of Canada's athletes.

I'm going to enjoy you. Please post more.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Meers

This thread strikes me as not only a tad negative, but asking for a rhetorical s**t kicking. To wit:

Calgary 1988 Games: 0 Canadian gold medals

Vancouver 2010 Games: 2 Canadian gold medals (and counting).

Yeah, so I could see how you could characterise the 2010 Games as a failure. If, that is, you were from Norway, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands or any of the 11 countries that out-medaled Canada in 1988 . . .

Could it be that Calgary's olympic crowds - like some CP posters - were so negative that it discouraged Canada's athletes in 1988?

I won't answer that question. Instead, I'll simply thank Vancouverites for having been so positive and supportive of Canada's athletes.

This argument was incredibly predictable, so you get 1/10 for trolling.

The overwhelming majority of medals Canada has won from 1992 until today can trace their success directly back to Calgary's games, the legacy of the elite training facilities and programs that it generated, and the fact that many of the newest sports (the ones Canada medals in) were first demonstrated in Calgary.

While many of the facilities for Vancouver will be repurposed after these games, with luck, the Vancouver games will provide an additional boost into the future.

[Hemi-Cuda]

plus we had a Jamaican bobsled team. Vancouver can boast all they want, they'll never be as cool as Cool Runnings

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

plus we had a Jamaican bobsled team. Vancouver can boast all they want, they'll never be as cool as Cool Runnings

This Olympics does have Ethiopian and Kenyan cross country skiers though. Kinda cool...

[Resolute 14]

And, hell, ###### Bagg-Smith managed to unite Calgarians and Vancouverites for a while. That has to count for something too!

[krazycanuck]

The start of these games has been...in a word: rough. however, it's also a 16 day event.

Calling the Vancouver games a failure 5 days in, would be the equivalent of calling an NHL team's season a failure at game 25. Most certainly you can't bestow the title of "worst games ever" less than a week in. There will be a time to judge the successes and failures of VANOC, now is not that time. Just sit back and enjoy.