By Jay and Griffin
Once we landed in Vancouver we made our way to the hotel. We were surprised to see the USA men’s hockey team staying in our hotel too! We walked into our room, got all unpacked, and got psyched for our first event at the 2010 Vancouver games the next morning.
19,950 people wearing nothing but
red and white, 50 people wearing only red, white and blue and chanting “GO
U-S-A!” Yes, you might have guessed we are at the Canada vs. USA hockey game,
the game when we won. From our hotel we could see the entrance to the hockey
rink; minute by minute the line up outside of the rink was getting longer and
longer. When we were finally inside making our way to our seats there were
venders trying to sell us hot dogs, burgers, candy, hockey pucks, jerseys, and hockey sticks. When we finally got to our seats we were just in time for
the opening face off. We were high in the bleachers next to the US net.
Whenever the Canadian team took a shot and our goalie saved it the few
Americans yelled and cheered, and then we were echoed by boos from the rest of
the crowd. In the third period of the game we were on the jumbo-tron two times,
(the jumbo-tron is the huge screen suspended over center ice) probably because
we were some of the lone Americans. When we were walking back to our hotel we
were on TV four times! TV guys reporting live kept stopping us and asking us
questions about the game. We were interviewed three times, by one American
channel and three Canadian channels. It was the match of a lifetime.
The most exciting part of skier cross is when two guys collide in mid-air coming into the finish. We went to the first men's skier cross in Olympic history at Cypress Mountain.Out of 2,000 people from all over the world we were on the jumbotron twice. The skier cross course started out with two tabletop knolls then another set of rollers. Also three bank turns and after that was two gap jumps, then another bank turn coming to the end of the course. Also last but not least the forty-foot kicker coming to the finish.
The first
event was the independent time trials and only two guys would not make it, so
the two guys who didn’t make it were a French guy and a Swiss guy; they both
crashed. The two Americans, Daron Rahlves and Casey Pucket, both made it to the
quarterfinals then they took out each other and didn’t make it to the finals.
Also the Canadians did not finish on the podium either so the streets of
Vancouver were filled with anger that neither Canada nor U.S.A. got atop the
podium.
It was an experience of a lifetime being at the first skier cross in the Winter Olympic games.As we were on the bus going up to Whistler Blackcomb we waved and made faces at the cars that were passing us just to entertain us on the two hour and forty-five minute bus ride. We were headed to the women’s super-G. When we got to the mountain we had to take a chair lift up to the grand stands were our seats were located. Unlike at the hockey game there were people from all over the world sitting by us. It was packed! Julia Mancuso was the very first woman to cross the finish line; we were cheering and ringing our cowbells louder and harder than any body at that event. When this event was over and we were walking back down to the chair Lily (Jays little sister) got a fewpictures with some of the racers. She even got a picture with a Slovenian racer.
You might think the only thing we did was got to the events and watch. But we also we walked around the city and say the Olympic torch. We also took a big boardwalk that took us to an aquarium. At the aquarium we say three bologna whales. Later that afternoon we were able to sit on a Vancouver police officers motorcycle. The policeman was very nice he even had a 1980’s look going big huge handle bar mustache and a pair of aviators. But one of the coolest things about the trip was getting ton hold the Olympic torch. The Olympic experience is one of the experiences we will never forget.
Ryan (unauthenticated)
Apr 5, 2010 3:59 PM
Griffin and Jay-
You must have had an awesome experience at the Olympics. You described your experience very well, and it showed us what it was really like to be at the Olympics. Telling by this story, you had lot's of fun. Great job.
Ryan
thoamas (kiwi) Gillespie (unauthenticated)
Apr 5, 2010 4:39 PM
jay and griff this was a great story aand sounds like a good trip and a good time
Keegan Whitelaw (unauthenticated)
Apr 5, 2010 5:45 PM
Jay and Griffin,
That was awesome!!!!!!!! I loved how you explained everything. I can't belive you guys held the torch!!!!!!!
Also the hockey game. That would be so cool to be interviewed. Also on the big screen. That was probley a great trup!
That was a great story and very detailed. Keep up the good work.
-Keegan
Sarah (unauthenticated)
Apr 5, 2010 6:32 PM
Nice story guys it cool that you got to see all those events AND hold the olympic torch... I liked all the pictures why didnt you get some pictures with the racers too?? it must have been cool to sit on the police mens motorcycle... you may have used too many alsos but good job!
Evan (unauthenticated)
Apr 5, 2010 8:55 PM
Nice stpry! it was a great topic and it seems that you had a lot of fun there! There was great detail and you painted a very good picture in my mind. You also had very good pictures. Anayways, i enjoyed the story and i hope you share some more!
Evan
Alex (FIRST COMMENT!!) (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 8:23 AM
Jay and Griffin,
That is awesome! I loved the pictures and the descriptions! keep it up
kristisn (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 8:55 AM
very good job guys the white thing looks like a bunch of sugar cubes did the people crash hard or not so hard. Was that s swedish guy. good job again by by T-HEE. the people were doing cool tricks
lukas (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 8:55 AM
good job griffin and jay. I wish I could go to the Olympics. you had really good details
Hannah (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 3:35 PM
Griffin and Jay,
I loved your description of getting to be on the jumbotron and TV. I would be really scared if I were on TV! I thought you had really good details of the drive to Whistler, and the hockey game. You had really cool pictures, too. I think you could have done with more periods and less commas, but otherwise you did a really good job.
Hannah
waverly (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 7:20 PM
that was a really good story it had good details. its sounds really fun i like the part about holding the torch.
Hope Perkins (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 7:36 PM
Griffin and Jay,
Great story! I've always wanted to go to the olympics. It felt like I was right there with you guys. In other words great decription!
-Hope
blair (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 8:06 PM
OMG
That sounded like sooo much fun know i wish i could have gone to the olympics!
blair
Garrett Rawlings (unauthenticated)
Apr 6, 2010 8:57 PM
Jay and Griffin,
that was such a cool story. you made me feel like i was there( i wish i was ). its so cool that you could hold the Olympic torch. you painted a amazing picture in my mind. it sounded like you had so much fun especially when you were one only peoply chanting for U-S-A. did you meat any of the us hockey team?
~Garrett
Braden (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 8:44 AM
Great job Griffin and Jay. You had great detail. How long were you guys there? Nice pictures the were cool.
-Braden
Jack Goodwin (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 10:47 AM
nice job guys,
you did a great job of explaining stuff, those pictures were cool.
i wish i went to the hockey game:(
nice job
jack
Pierson (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 1:45 PM
Wow, that was a great story and i loved how you mentioned all the cool things you did
I would like to hear mor about how you guys felt about being there
great story, pierson
Max Tanou (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 4:45 PM
That sounds like so much fun. I bet it was awsome seeing the hockey GO USA!! The skier cross must have been so awsome i am mad that we did not make the podium. Great details. Good story
Max
Parker J (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 5:05 PM
Jay and Griffen nice story!!! I really liked how you were on the jumbotron abunch of times.
Great story!!!
dane flaherty (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 6:10 PM
awesome story griffin and jay. I like how you said there were only 50 americans at the hokey game. It must have been cool to be interviewed by 4 different reporters
Dane
Darby (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 6:22 PM
Griffin and Jay,
You guys did a great job on the story. It sounded like a lot of fun! I wish I could have gone too! Good Job.
-Darby
Darby (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 6:22 PM
Griffin and Jay,
You guys did a great job on the story. It sounded like a lot of fun! I wish I could have gone too! Good Job.
-Darby
Darby (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 6:22 PM
Sorry.
i accidently posted 2 comments...
-Darby
Evan (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 6:26 PM
sorry i spelled story wrong. great job again
=EVan
Olivia (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 7:56 PM
Hi Griffin and Jay,
Great story! It was an experience of a lifetime and my favorite paragraph was the one about the hockey game. It was really cool the way you described the 50 Americans and the 19,000 Canadians. I think you should work on fixing run-on sentences and descriptions a little bit more. Keep up the good work, Griffin and Jay!
-Olivia
henry (unauthenticated)
Apr 7, 2010 8:10 PM
i like all the hockey parts
cool you got on the gumbo tron
great story good like deskripsions
henry
emily (unauthenticated)
Apr 8, 2010 3:17 PM
THat sounds so un you tow i would have love to be there you a re so lucky to go that is so cool about the olimpic torch nice job on the wrinting
Eliza Uberuaga (unauthenticated)
Apr 8, 2010 4:44 PM
Jay and Griffin, That was really good. I like how the whole story had so many suprises you never new what was next. The pictures were really cool!
Colby wright (unauthenticated)
Apr 8, 2010 5:54 PM
i loved your story. great description. keep up the good work
jackie (unauthenticated)
Apr 8, 2010 10:31 PM
whoa thats a lot of people wearing red and white.
p.s i love the story it was really good.
Nico (unauthenticated)
Apr 9, 2010 1:39 PM
you guys did a really good job on your story espicially all the discriptions
Lexi (unauthenticated)
Apr 11, 2010 8:35 PM
Great story! wish i could have been there... anyway, that is so cool you got to hold the torch!
Tripp (unauthenticated)
Apr 12, 2010 5:26 PM
nice story guys you had great description and pictures. I am also really jealous of you guys because that U.S. Canada game was one of the best hockey games i've seen in awhile and i wish i could have been their. overall great job.
sean (unauthenticated)
Apr 15, 2010 9:12 AM
that was great and i saw that on tv that was cool when they colided great detail
samie (unauthenticated)
Apr 15, 2010 8:30 PM
Your story was really good!
It must of been so cool to go to the olympics!
You put a lot of good description in your story and made it sound like something you'll never forget
-Samie