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Thoughts From the Vancouver Olympics
First-Person Observations on the 2010 Games
The Sliding Center is a spectacular venue for the fans.
There is a great buzz at these Winter Olympic Games. PubClub.com arrived in Vancovuer on Day 2 and has spent time there and in Vancouver. These are our personal observations with daily updates.
Okay, so Linsdey Vonn gets a alot of media attention. This is for being both a Gold Medalist and also for being beautiful. Each are well deserved. But where is the attention for Megan Sweeney, a lovely luger for Team USA who, in PubClub.com's opinion, is more of a looker than even Vonn.
She wears a constant smile as bright as the snow and a lively personality. PubClub met her – and other members of the USA Luge Team – on Sunday at a Yaletown bar.
Lovely luger Megan Sweeney, prettier than even Lindsey Vonn.
Vancouver has many more people than did Whistler, which was to be expected. With two gold medals won on Tuesday, the place is jumping. It's just what the Canadians needed!
Win or lose, the Canadians booze while watching their hockey team.
Photo: Simon Leung Photography, Vancouver.
PubClub watched the USA-Canada hockey game at a rocking bar in Vancouver on Sunday. It was a great experience, even for an American in a place packed with Canadians.
In Whistler, PubClub.com has partied with the German Bobsled team, women's cross-country skiers from Greece and Croatia and the Austrian ski jumping coach. As well as a heck of a lot of other people from around the world (mostly Canadians, of course).
PubClub.com and the German bobsledders.
This is one of the really cool things about being at the Games. The athletes, coaches and team personnel are crusing around just like the fans. It's up cloase and personal, and everyone is very personable. It's the true Olymic spirt! Take this Swiss ski gold medalist (below); he was hanging out in the center of Whistler Village taking photos with everyone who asked. Including PubClub.com!
On the hill for the women's downhill, won by Lindsey Vonn.
PubClub.com was on the hill for the women's downhill on Wednesday, won by Lindsey Vonn of the USA. Instead of buying a ticket to the event, we got a lift ticket and skied to the top part of the course. A couple hundred people were there as well, and when a skier came down the hill they rang cowbells. It was a festive atmosphere, although officials should consider adding a Jumbotron for future events, as they do for auto racing.
Whistler is alive with activity. Many of the bars and clubs are small so there's usually a wait of 15-30 minutes...The small but lively Amsterdam Pub i the Village is selling pints for $6, its regular price. Next door, Cita has raised its beer prices ...Sponsors of the American Luge team were partying in the Amsterdam Pub on Saturday night...USA Team had a good time Saturday evening posing in front of the Olympic rings by the medals plaza.
PubClub – and others – the a Swiss gold medalist.
One downer – the Canadian alcohol police are on the patrol and are going in bars and restaurants giving out hefty fines for being too crowded. PubClub says it's the Olympics – where's your spirit of the Games!? This has forced places to have lines even when the place is not near capacity for fear of further fines.
The second Friday in Whistler the Village is buzzing with activity. People are everywhere.
Fans get right up to the athletes in the Sliding Center.
The sliding center, which is holding the bobsled, luge and skeleton events, is providing of the best fan experiences of the Games. For a GA ticket, people can walk around and get dozens of different vantage points from up and down the track, including the start and finish lines. They can also get right up nearly against the railing for a true up-close Olympic experience.
In Vancouver, Downwotn Live is a great place to be for fans. It's free – though there's a 30-45-minute wait to get through airport-style security – has pavillions and an indoor area witha stage.
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PubClub's writer at the Olympic flame, which is now more accessible.
There's food and beer inside ($7.50, buy a ticket to get the Molson) and will dozens of plasma TVs showing all areas of the Olympics, it's like a sports bar in there. Beer sales go until 12:30 a.m...The other free public venue for bands and pavillions is Yaletown Live. The stage is outside but there's no beer at this site.
So far so good – partying in Yaletown, downtown Vancouver.
Yaletown is alive with activitiy, particularly the corner of Mainland & Helmcken. Street performers are drawing a crowd. The busiest bar is Yaletown Brewing on that corner and it's selling its own beer for $6.75, among the "cheapest" in town. Other places are charging $8 or more. The mobs are at Robson Square and Granville Street.
The foreign feel of the Games is evident on the Vancouver streets.
Our reporter on the job and getting to know the locals in Yaletown.
Arriving in the Vancouver for the Games is a breeze. Customs is welcoming and the airport is full of people in green jackets ready to help any wandering toursit...The Canada Line ($7.50) whisked PubClub from the airport to downton in 20 minutes. Driving can take up to 40...The people are friendly everywhere. From locals to visitors to guards, thre are smiles and friendly faces anywhere..
– VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPIC STORY LINKS –
• Winter Olympics Fans & Party Guide.
• USA-Canada Hockey An American in a Vancouver Bar.
• Lindsey Vonn, America's Next Olympic Star,
• Tips on Ways to Identify Canadians at the Games
• A Look at the Games & Scene in Vancouver
• A Look at the Games & Scene in Whistler
• Photo Journal from Vancover & Whistler.
• Opening Ceremonies Review.
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