Feb 20-21, 2010 Last Update: 2/23/10 8:30pm PT
The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, BC, very close to home. Although we are not fans of crowds, attending these Winter Olympics seemed like a once in a lifetime event we couldn’t pass up. Let me start by saying we had a great time. That said, what a scam! There are a lot of problems with the ticket buying process. We placed an order for curling and short track speed skating a little over a year ago. They had a lottery with your order and you get the tickets they deem you worthy of receiving. We only got tickets to curling, not a high demand event. Of all the people we know (or know someone who knows someone) who tried to get tickets, we were the only ones who actually received any. We paid about twice the face value, from the one and only “official” ticketing agent. We read newspaper articles about there being only a few hundred tickets allotted to the whole U.S. for certain events. But you pay or you stay home, so we paid. And don’t get me started on hotels. Hotel web sites don’t allow you to book rooms over 50 weeks in advance, so I called every hotel in the Vancouver area more than a year in advance. Most hotels said they were booked already. Booked by the Vancouver Olympic Committee. I got on a few waiting lists, but most hotels didn’t want to talk to you if you were only wanting a room for one night. I got lucky and randomly hit a hotel web site at one point a few months after getting tickets and snagged a room, out in Langley, which is a 30 minute drive to the train station; the train takes 40 minutes to get downtown.
Our curling tickets were for Sunday, Feb. 21. We planned on driving up on Saturday, Feb. 20 to take in the atmosphere and to try and buy tickets from a scalper (legal in Canada). We wanted to go to the Norway vs. Switzerland hockey game (since I work for a Norwegian company). Cheap tickets were going for $125 each before the game. We went to lunch. When the game started I got tickets for $50 each. That’s the face value. We saved money because we didn’t have to pay the “official” ticket seller’s handling fees, bank charges, and other miscellaneous fees, which double the price of tickets. For reference, tickets for a high demand hockey game, like Sunday’s U.S. vs. Canada, were going for $1200 each. That’s not even a medal game, those were about $3000.
We took the Sky Train from Surry, BC (the end of the line). They had these trains running every 15-30 seconds through downtown, and they were all packed.
The Olympic Flame: They have this thing locked away in a prison camp. I guess they think drunk Americans will vandalize it after a hockey game. It looks good on TV, but looks kinda cheap in person. It was very crowded here.
Hockey: The game was played in GM Place, where the Vancouver Canucks play. Only they had to rename the stadium, because GM is not an official sponsor of the Olympics, so for the duration of the games, it is simply called Canada Hockey Place. The Norwegians lost in overtime, but it was a very exciting game. We were in the nose-bleed seats, the second row from the roof. But hockey stadiums aren’t too big, so we had a nice view. Since we bought the tickets after the game started, we missed a bit of the first period, but we got some overtime, so it was about even.
Curling: It was freezing in the curling venue. We were sitting under a vent blowing cold air. We had 8th row seats. These pictures were not taken from our correct seats. We went to the wrong section at first. It’s a temporary building for the Olympics, so it was not clearly marked.
Being a baseball fan, I can appreciate a slower paced game with some strategy. But, curling is much easier to watch on TV. In person, there are 4 games being played at the same time. Plus, not really knowing all the rules, it’s hard to know the reason for stone placement without hearing the commentary.
Those Canadian curling fans are crazy. The matches started at 9 AM. The guy next to us went 3 times for more beer.
Food summary: Shawarma sandwiches, Beard Papa’s cream puffs, Fish & Chips, Tim Hortons Timbits (America may run on Dunkin’, but Canada runs on Tim’s – and by the way, Canada is part of America (North America), so it should be The United States runs on Dunkin’, but I digress), and the Noodle Box (yum).