Living in Sweden, Snappin' Photos
2010 Olympics
The “Lucky Loonie”
Feb 17th
I’m sure you have heard about this mythical “Lucky Loonie”. For those who have, you are definitely missing out on some great Canadian facts and lore! Well, I’m gonna go to my trusty encyclopaedia of lore, Wikipedia and give you the lowdown on this “Lucky Loonie”
Well, this all started back back in the old times of 2002. It was the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, when the ice maker hid a Canadian loonie under centre ice. Well, what happened? Canada Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams won GOLD! It was used to help the referees drop the puck on the centre of the face off circle (really?), but “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky was able to recover this loonie and it now sits in the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame! That is how the “Lucky Loonie” started.
Now, this has taken on many more forms.
In 2003, at the IIHF World Hockey Chapionships, between Canada and Sweden, Canada won GOLD!
In 2006, at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, at the curling rink, the ice maker there hid 2 loonies under the ends, and Brad Gushue and his team won GOLD!
This has also been used this against us. At the 2008 IIHF World Championships, Team Russia (Alexander Ovechkin) buried a “(un)Lucky Loonie” at the centre of the ice. When Russia beat Canada, 5-4 in overtime, Soviet Comrade Ovechkin dug it out.
I have even taken up this wise tail and always travel with a “Lucky Loonie” of my own. Right now it sits atop my passport. It was stamped 1987, the first year of the Loonie.
Well, I haven’t been able to see/hear anything if a “Lucky Loonie” has been placed at GM Place (Canada Hockey Place), but if it has been (or will be) I’ll be sure it gets posted here!
Encyclopedia of Lore Reference: Wikipedia.com
Possibly Related Posts:
- Canada Hockey Team Rap
- Olympic Drinking Games!
- Canada Strikes GOLD!
- Canada’s First Medal and a Hockey Thumpin’
- Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
Canada Hockey Team Rap
Feb 16th
What can I say, the line has been drawn in the sand. America, Russia, Finland, Czech, Slovakia and Sweden… Take NOTE, IT’S ON! The GOLD is ours!
Possibly Related Posts:
- The “Lucky Loonie”
- Olympic Drinking Games!
- Canada Strikes GOLD!
- Canada’s First Medal and a Hockey Thumpin’
- Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
Olympic Drinking Games!
Feb 16th
So, I was thinking last night while I was watching long track speed-skating. A certain word kept coming up, every race… Katrina Lemay Doan kept saying “lactic acid”, For those who don’t know, it’s that burning/filling feeling you get in your muscles. It’s an acid that builds up that needs to be flushed, formed from extensive muscle use.
Anyway, that got me thinking. Every time she says it, take a shot or drink your beer! I think I counted some 10-15 times she said it in one hour.
This can be applied to most other sports as well, but this really came out.
Here are some other ideas…
- Curling: Every time they blank an end.
- Biathlon: Every time a shooter misses a shot (you take one for them).
- Alpine: Every time there is a jump by a skier. Or better yet, when a skier falls! Careful on the ski jumping!
Just some random thoughts for making the olympics even THAT more exciting!
Do you have any suggestions on how to enjoy your favourite beverages while watching your favourite olympic sports? If so, let us know down below!
Possibly Related Posts:
- The “Lucky Loonie”
- Canada Hockey Team Rap
- Canada Strikes GOLD!
- Canada’s First Medal and a Hockey Thumpin’
- Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
Canada Strikes GOLD!
Feb 15th
No matter how you say it, the curse has been broken! Alexandre Bilodeau on the mens freestyle mogules, was able to capture Canada’s first gold medal on home soil! WOOT WOOT!
This was what I woke up to this morning when I was checking the news from the events while I slept (+1 GMT remember). Here is the article from CTVOlympics.ca, with a nice photo album to go with it. Actually, the Canadian Post is gonna be producing a stamp to honour Alexandre Bilodeau for the amazing effort! The stamp is pretty cool actually! Check out some of the photos here! You know Canada Post was ready for this!
Actually, just before I went to bed, Canada also won a bronze in women’s 3000m speed skating. Christina Groves was able to secure her medal by 0.02s of a second! PURE INSANE! Here is the article from CTVOlympics.ca with lots of photos as well.
I must say it was nice to come into work, and mark 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze on my scrum whiteboard for Canada’s Olympics Medals.
Oh, I should also say, Sweden also got it’s first gold medal in women’s 10km free cross country skiing from Charlotte Kalla. So at the time of this, Sweden has 1 gold. Congratulations. Yet again, here’s more information and photos from CTVOlympics.ca.
Possibly Related Posts:
- The “Lucky Loonie”
- Canada Hockey Team Rap
- Olympic Drinking Games!
- Canada’s First Medal and a Hockey Thumpin’
- Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
Canada’s First Medal and a Hockey Thumpin’
Feb 14th
Well, day 2 and come and gone and Canada has won their first silver medal.
Yes, we still haven’t won a gold medal on home soil (yet), but a silver in freestyle skiing: moguls fromJennifer Heil is a great way to start the games! Congratulations. Here is more information about her medal and and some photos from the event!
For those who are wondering, here are the what the medals look like. They are made from recycled materials, going with the whole green and environmentally friendly theme. They are created by local artists and of have inspiration of native culture on them.
Next, on to the hockey thumpin’! Back in November, I had the opportunity to see Canadian Women’s Hockey Team take on Sweden’s National Hockey Team in Stockholm, at Hovet. It was such a great came to see Canada just dominate the ice. It was a hard, in your face, aggressive style game. Canada won 4-2, but the game was just an exhibition before the 4 nation tournament in Finland.
Well, the Canadian Women had a preliminary round robin game against Slovakia, and well, it was a thumpin’. 18-0 blowout for Team Canada. Well, it’s great and all, but then people start asking, “Is 18-0 acceptable?” Well, yes. Now, if a team were to show leniency in the games, that would be unsportsmanlike. Team Canada is on a mission, to win and get the first game jitters out. If a team makes it to the Olympics, and isn’t able to preform at the calibre of the games, it shouldn’t be the winning teams fault. But then, that is my opinion. Hold no quarter! 
Possibly Related Posts:
- The “Lucky Loonie”
- Canada Hockey Team Rap
- Olympic Drinking Games!
- Canada Strikes GOLD!
- Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies
Feb 13th
So last night, well, this morning in Stockholm, I was dedicated enough to watch the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies. I thought it was an excellent example of what makes Canada such a rich and unique culture and showed the world our true and proud heritage.
Stockholm being +1 GMT (CEST) and Vancouver beating -8 GMT (PST), and the games starting at 6pm PST, made it difficult to see the opening ceremony “live”. Because it’s 3am in Stockholm and the games were 3 and a half hours, as well, watching live off the TV, isn’t the same as being there live. But anyway, it was my goal to watch the ceremonies.
To start the day, I was dressed head to toe in Canadian gear. Toque, CHECK! Scarf, CHECK! Mittens, CHECK! Jersey, CHECK! Flag, CHECK! Yes, I was the red and white, the colours that beat through my veins and arteries. I didn’t care what people thought, I was proud that my home town got to host the world, and do it “our way”. There is even talk with some management that if Canada/Sweden goes to hockey, that the stakes may be high. Money? Champaign? Jobs? Oh, I’d play for them all because I know my team will rock it!
I did manage to get a photo. The “straight face” was so hard to do because I had my whole office laughing as I posed. It was pretty fun!
Anyway, I digress, and lets’ get back to the opening ceremonies.
The Opening Ceremonies started at 6pm at BC Place. It was completely transformed into a stage that Cirque du Soleil would be proud of. They had clouds, and a full projection stage, hydraulic system and aerial system. I really can’t give it justice on how amazing it was. There was a lot of native inspiration to it, as well as all corners of Canada, from Ashley MacIsaac preforming a badass east coast punk and tap, to Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado preforming a duet as well as K.D. Lang preforming an amazing rendition of Leonard Cohen‘s Hallejulah.
There was also a “slam poetry” session, “We Are More” by Shane Koyczan. Here are the words, but some of the highlights I had, that ran chills down my spin were:
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we’re more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you’re welcome
and
Canada is the “what” in “what’s new?”
so don’t say “been there done that”
unless you’ve sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
and fianlly for me, being a current ex-pat
but don’t let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
It was also amazing to see the 5 torchbearers light in indoor cauldron, the first ever indoor cauldron at an Olympic event. Seeing Rick Hansen roll in and light Catriona LeMay Doan’s torch to her lighting Steve Nash’s torch to him lighting Nancy Greene’s torch to finally her lighting, #99, “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky’s torch. Then all then lit the indoor cauldron together. Then by truck, The Great One made his way to the waterfront as the Vancouver Convention Centre to light the outdoor cauldron. It was beautiful to see the fans run with the truck and cheering for Wayne made his journey to light the cauldron.
Here are some photo galleries from the official CTV Olympics website. I wished I had Olympic photos that I took, but alas, it’s hard living on the other side of the world.
Lighting of the Olympic Cauldron
I know my post is leaving a lot out, but hopefully it captures the essence of what I loved and enjoyed about the Vancouver Olympic 2010 Opening Ceremonies. The next 17 days are going to be amazing, filled with the word’s best preforming at the highest level possible to do their countries proud. GO CANADA GO!
Possibly Related Posts:
- The “Lucky Loonie”
- Canada Hockey Team Rap
- Olympic Drinking Games!
- Canada Strikes GOLD!
- Canada’s First Medal and a Hockey Thumpin’
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