Canada Takes GOLD!!!

Canada made history today and I got to be right at the centre of it all! As the gold medal game begun, a couple friends and I headed downtown to be apart of the excitement. We didn't sit and watch the game play-by-play, but there were TV's and big screens in every restaurant, pub, coffee shop, and even just out on the street. As we meandered through the crowds, we kept an eye on the game. If we weren't in front of a screen for a goal, we knew it happen by the cheers or boos that roared down every street. It was one, big, city-wide party!!

Tonnes of people out in the streets, dressed in red and white.

Canada was leading 2-1 throughout most of the game.... until the US scored 24 seconds before the end of the game. That's when things got intense. As the game went into sudden-death over-time, some began to lose hope, thinking that Canada would buckle under the pressure. But not I. Perhaps I didn't have the faith I should've, but I definitely had the determination.... the only thought in my head was, "We have to win this. We have to win this. We have to. We HAVE to. WE HAVE TO!!!" And we did.

Seven minutes into OT, the city went wild! Canada had scored. The gold was ours. Not only that, but it pushed us up to 14 golds which meant that we had the most golds during the 21st Winter Olympics.... and the most golds ever won in any Winter Olympics!

We were down at Waterfront when history was made, but we immediately headed up towards the epicentre of the chaos - Robson Street. The street was packed! Flags, horns, cow bells, and LOTS of Canadian pride! The entire city - even the nation - was united in that moment! It was truly magical! It was easy to see and hear the Canadian pride in that moment, but it was so thick and intense that you could almost smell it and taste it, almost tangible.... something you could reach out and touch.

The crowd was pretty intense at times - there were moments when I thought I might be crushed, but it was all just friendly excitement. (I hate to think of what might have happened down there if Canada wouldn't have won!)

My friend Jared, taking in all the excitement. He's actually American, but we didn't publicize that little fact! He was actually cheering for Canada (having attended college in Canada for 4 years), and felt that we rightly deserved the gold this time!

Incredible madness!!

We saw a guy running down the street with same sign, but I wasn't able to get a picture of it myself. But this pretty much summed up the afternoon's events.....

Watch the videos below to get a feel for the excitement that was coursing through the collective veins of the city. (I apologize if some of the videos are "bumpy", but it's not easy getting good video while being jostled by that many people!) If you listen carefully, you can hear the different "chants" echoing along the street..... "Go Canada, Go", "We Want Gold!", and "Olay, Olay, Olay, Olay" (sp?).