The Party's Over
W/the Closing Ceremonies tonight of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Whistler tonight, Canada's Fantastic Party has finally come to an end.
What a couple of months it's been though. Full of memories I'll never forget.
I did want to share this article before all is said and done...
www.ctvolympics.ca/paralympics/news/newsid=55685.html#us+veterans+paralympics+find+healing+sport
A really incredable read about the Veterans from Iraq who were on the US Paralympic Team and how Paralympic Sport has helped them come to terms w/what has happened to them. There's also one incredable picture w/that article of one of their Alpine Sit Skiers taking one of the jumps on the Dave Murray Downhill course.
One of my favourite moments of the week for me was on Day One of competition and doesn't have anything to do w/a Canadian Paralympian believe it or not. It was Ladies Nordic/Cross Country Skiing Standing and the Russian Gold Medalist had such a huge lead on the Silver Medalist, that when she got to the straightaway to home, she went over to the Grandstand/Standing Room area for the fans beside the course, grabbed a Russian flag (the same size as the Flag Bearers carry at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies) and then proceeded to finish the race carrying her Country's flag down the Home Stretch and across the Finish Line.
That's when she tilted the pole on an angle and kissed the Flag.
The sight of her flying down that Home Stretch while holding up the red, white and blue stripes of the Russian Flag and it flying behind her...That's going to stay w/me for a very long time. It really was one of those things that just send the chills down your spine.
Speaking of Russia...At tonight's Closing Ceremonies, how they shut off the Cauldron and Flame was one of the best ways to do it that I've ever seen and I'm talking Olympic, Pan Am, Commonwealth and Canada Games Closings here combined too. There was a performer on stage playing piano, w/a band also providing back up for him and while he was singing, you could see the Cauldron slowly start to die out. When it did, out from behind it comes about five little kids dressed in red and white Maple Leaf fleece jackets and one of them is holding a lit Paralympic Torch. They head off to the stage and when they get to the one side of it, from the other side are the members of the Children's Choir from Russia who sang the Russian National Anthem to kick off the Sochi part of the Ceremonies. They met up w/each other at the middle of the stage and that's when the Paralympic Flame was handed over from Vancouver/Whistler and Canada to Sochi and Russia.
They then turned around the way they had come and started walking away, but as they were going past the big screens on that part of the stage, we see appear "See you in Sochi!!"
Loved. It!! What a great, great, great idea that was.
Sigh...It's been one heck of a special time in this Country and I've never been prouder to call myself Canadian than I have been these last two months.
Can't wait till the next time we can do it all again!! :oD