Saturday-USA v Great Britain

Another win for Team USA. There were several very good games again this afternoon and we certainly enjoyed watching Team McCormick post another game in the win column!



We had to leave the curling venue right after the USA game was complete, as we had tickets to a Victory Ceremony in downtown Vancouver. The Victory Ceremony is basically a ticketed party where the medals are awarded. It occurs at BC Place, the venue for the Canadian Football League. There were many seats still available and it appeared that more people had purchased the "cheap" seats than the floor seats. The higher levels quickly filled up while the floor had many seats open throughout the ceremony.

Each ceremony opens with a presentation by one of the Canadian provinces. Last night was the Yukon province so we saw several different performances-a Yukon rapper and dance troupe, tribal dancers and a band featuring guitarists and an accordion player. Quite an eclectic mix.

No medals were awarded in Vancouver yesterday so we watched the Whistler award presentation on the big screen. Medals were awarded in the Skeleton and Super G Ski events. It was nice to see an American medal awarded to Lindsey Vonn-bronze in the Super G.

After the awards Stereophonics, a British band, played. They were great to listen to, if a bit on the loud side, but I think it would have been better if we'd have known a few of the songs. I felt bad for the band, as the crowds started to quickly clear out.

We made a quick stop at the P&G house, where Keith got to meet Vernon Davis of the San Fransisco 49ers. Keith thought he was very nice-if smaller than he seems on tv :)- and thinks he's a great public figure for the sport of curling.

We met up with some other Team USA curling supporters and took a short walk to see the Olympic Flame. Yes, it's surrounded by chain link fence and looks like you're in a jail! Not at all what I would have thought coming into the games. The beauty is definitely marred by the security features. I've read that there's a spot to get a shot of the flame without the fence in the background, but last night was not the night to try and get that close. There were a lot of people out and about so we plan on trying again later this week. The guys who had already been there also assured us it's actually prettier at night than during the day.

On the way back to the Olympic superstore, the guys felt the need for an impromptu YMCA photo shoot. It's hard to see in the picture but inside this building there's a huge orb of Earth. Everyone was stopping to take pictures, making it look like they're holding Earth in their hands. Keith, Brett and Brock (Jim didn't make it into the photo-he was the other photographer) decided to force the poor girl into being the Y for their photo. She was a good sport! The guys were hilarious and it was fun hanging out with them here in Vancouver. Sorry they headed back to Colorado today!

Our stop at the Olympic superstore was short, as they were completely out of the red mittens we were trying to get. I tried to fit my hand into the kid's size, but there's no chance that's going to work. Guess we'll be looking for other options. We packed onto the skytrain-nothing like standing elbow to elbow with hundreds of other partiers to make you wish you were driving :)