Rest In Peace, young man.

First, I want to convey how horrified I was to watch the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.  The sound made when he hit that metal pillar is chilling, and there can be no doubt that the incident cast a shadow on a day otherwise filled with joy, magnificence and anticipation.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his teammates and his country.

I’ll let the pontifications on the safety of the track design and the risk profile of the sport be offered by experts that are far more informed about such things than I.  I will offer this question though, which has burdened me since I saw the footage of the accident:  how can metal posts like that be left uncovered with a sport that sends an athlete down an ice track at over 150 kilometres per hour?

But alas, the sombre mood from Kumaritashvili’s untimely passing was met in the evening with an outpouring of emotion on the other end of the spectrum for the most anticipated event that this city has ever seen.

BC Place was truly transformed last night.

As readers of this website are aware, I have been down on the opening ceremonies for many months now based on my deep skepticism of BC Place as an appropriate venue.

Well, the to the producers, the performers, and all of the technical people behind last night’s spectacle, let me offer a mea culpa.

I was wrong – these were one of the most touching and charming opening ceremonies I can remember in my decade and a half of watching the Winter Olympics.  I will, however, not offer any such admission about the stadium, which is well past its best before date…with or without a new roof.

They were Canadian in so many ways.

Understated…inclusive…beautiful…friendly…colourful…and full of substance.

The entrance of the Canadian team was a moment that I will not soon forget.  I was inspired, I was happy, and I was so proud.  Their enthusiasm, and the love of the crowd, made the presence final country to come out of the athletes’ parade the definition of glory.

In spite of Pete McMartin’s disdain for the way Nikki Yanofsky sang the national anthem, I thought that it was a beautiful and elegant, although never as hair-raising as this version, which will always be my favourite rendition of all time and consistently brings tears to my eyes.

The aboriginal inclusion and prominence was absolutely amazing…it was a fitting tribute to the four host nations, and I was proud of the fact that no other country has ever included their indigenous peoples so holistically.  I hearken back to the Sydney Opening ceremonies, and note that even with Austrailia being a country with such a rich aboriginal tradition, their segment entitled “Awakening” which recognized their founding population couldn’t hold a candle to last night.

The way they turned the stadium floor into a screen that displayed our majestic killer whales, our once abundant (yet now floundering) salmon, or our golden Prairie wheat was breathtaking on camera.

The totem poles – however phallic – were stunning.

Donald Sutherland’s voice was haunting, and the stillness of his delivery of the words of such monumental figures in Canadian history gave the ceremony a tranquility like few others could have pulled off (that is why his voice has now become the most marketable since the likes of James Earl Jones).

I loved the Brian Adams and Nelly Furtado song…catchy, uplifting, and their voices meshed so very well.

The fiddlers showed off the Eastern and the Atlantic provinces off well, although the Western influence was missing.

I would have liked to have shown off a little more of our Fracophone heritage and some more multicultural aspects of our country, but you can only do so much.

But the most impactful moment for me by far was the delivery of the “We Are More” speech by spoken word artist Shane Koyczan.  Unlike McMartin, I didn’t get the press release from his publicist beforehand, making his words magical to me.

I am desperately going to try and track down the text and post it on this website, but here is an excerpt that I loved:

“”What defines Canadians is something as simple as ‘please and thank you.’ We’re an experiment that’s gone right for a change. And yes, we say zed, not zee. The true north strong and free. The thing is, we didn’t just say it. We made it be.”

And with that final closing, the event organizers made it be…and it was grand.

I was pleased, I am proud, and I am ready to see us kick some serious ass in the competitions to come over the next 16 days.

Oh, and one last note – I think that Gretzky was a truly fitting torch bearer, although the long and drawn out drive to the outdoor cauldron, while exciting for those on the streets, was a little too long for my liking from a television viewer’s perspective.

And now, it is off to a downtown full of sunshine and international visitors to experience the city for everything that it has to offer (with the exception of snow or anything close to approaching the typical aspects of “winter”).

Back on Monday, folks, with hopefully some medal victories to report on.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

(the sports edition)

• This is a satisfying story to read about as a former Grizzlies fan that was crushed when that bastard Heisley moved them to Memphis.  The  team’s ticket prices are lowest in the league and attendance was second lowest in the NBA last year. Add the two together and the Grizzlies generated only $322,000 per game, which is one sixth of what the LA Lakers pull in at the gate.  Maybe it wasn’t Vancouver after all.

• I am not as happy to hear about this prediction, however.  Are sponsors, or a lack thereof, the determining factor as to whether the games are a success or not?  Not entirely.  But I have a feeling that the tourist element in Vancouver is also not going to be as strong as earlier forecasts.

• A propagandist?  Wow, thanks Charlie!  Once again, I wish that such a title was accompanied by that elusive cheque that Charlie is so hotly pursuing.  Alas, it unfortunately isn’t, which will likely force Charlie to go back to the hard hitting stories about Vision Vancouver colour schemes that has earned him the reputation that he so richly deserves.

• I am very excited about the picking of the Olympic Men’s Hockey team which will be announced on December 30 by GM Steve Yzerman.  I don’t mind these predictions, although if Stamkos doesn’t make it just like Crosby didn’t four years ago, it will be a huge mistake…mark my words.

• Don’t hold your breath, Canucks fans.  It has been a rough first half for you guys and for my  beloved Habs, although they have just won 3 in a row with the return of Markov.  If the Canucks make it, so too will the Habs.  If they don’t, I think both teams miss.  Somehow I have a feeling that their fates are linked.

• This will be fun.  In fact, pulling football (Br) and football (Am) away from the dome will be more of an impetus for myself and many other quasi-fans to make more of an effort to attend games.  I absolutely hate BC Place, and no amount of renovations are going to change that.  Like I have previously stated, this is the stadium that is going to be responsible for the worse opening ceremonies in Olympic history.

That’s it for today, and for the next few, folks.  Merry Christmas to you and your families.  I will see you back here after Boxing Day.

NPA Mayor rivals Suzanne Anton and Ian Robertson battle it out over media attention.

Before I delve into the issue of Northeast False Creek (NEFC), I want to indicate that the concept of density, which was at the heart of former Mayor Sam Sullivan’s EcoDensity initiative, is not what ruffled feathers about his proposals.  Density is something that needs to be widely embraced to ensure a sustainable future, particularly in the way in which Vancouver is growing.

Rather, it was the former Mayor’s approach that created such a backlash against the idea.  Whether it was registering his own personal trademark for the EcoDensity label, or the manner in which he dictated to neighbourhoods without the slightest attempt at compromise, to the way that the concept always revolved around a one-man show in its presentation, the means of marketing or communicating the idea, fell flat (this view is in fact echoed by urban planner, architect and former NPA candidate Michael Geller in this comment on Frances Bula’s site).

Now, in moving onto the current debate going on about NEFC, the comments offered by lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton and lone NPA Park Board Commissioner in this story are completely disingenuous

“There’s going to be a lot of people living in the area; there has to be a place for kids to take swimming lessons or skating lessons.  I’m worried about the lack of public facilities there.” – Suzanne Anton

“We’re constantly looking at all quadrants and regions in the city where we’re park-deficient.  Certainly this is good for the developer, but not necessarily for residents of this neighbourhood.” – Ian Robertson

Oh really?  Let’s take a look back to a City Council meeting that took place on October 16, 2008.

It was at that point a motion moved by Councillor Anton was voted upon, where the vote was split down party lines (Vision Vancouver Councillors voted against 3 out of 4 sections of the motion).

The most salient of these sections opposed by Vision is the following:

“THAT the City Manager or the Deputy City Manager be authorized to finalize, execute and deliver an Upgrade Commitment Agreement with BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), generally in accordance with the terms set out below, which commits PavCo to undertaking and completing the Stadium upgrade and to bearing the direct and indirect costs for any services associated with the upgrade and adjacent development on Stadium lands while also confirming that the City will not anticipate any Community Amenity Contributions from the development beyond the Stadium upgrade itself, all subject to termination if the proposed FCN ODP amendments are not enacted by a specified outside date.”

Now, if Anton and her NPA colleague Robertson were so concerned about public amenities, and more specifically parks, why were they so supportive of PAVCO offering nothing more than a stadium roof upgrade as its community contribution?

BC Place is not a public space.  It isn’t a community centre in which families can take their children to a swimming pool or for a dance class.

The motion proposed and passed by Anton et al. was about upgrading a stadium that only caters to those who can pay to get into events.

Residents can take solace in the fact that there are three other owners of the NEFC lands – Aquilini Development, Canadian Metropolitan Properties and Concord Pacific – from which the area can ensure real amenities.

This past Tuesday, Council voted to endorse a set of general principles for development moving forward, complete with a rash of amendments that made aware their demands for affordable housing, park space and other community benefits.

As described in this Georgia Straight article, Concord Pacific, which owns 37 percent of the land at Northeast False Creek, has “expressed concern that it is being asked to provide new public space while others are removing open space from their sites.”

This is a valid objection in consideration of the sweetheart deal that that previous Council approved with PAVCO.

Thank goodness we now have a Council that is going to fight for real benefits for residents instead of a roof owned by a Crown Corporation that is not widely accessible to the general public.

The dome in its current form will undoubtedly serve as one of the worst opening ceremony venues in the history of the Olympic movement.

A wake up call before in anticipation of hosting the globe? Not a chance.

Plans to ensure a stadium that Vancouver could be proud of should have began immediately after the roof collapsed in January, 2007, which regardless of shoddy management or a lack of training, was the perfect starting point to get things ready before the arrival of the world.

At least the Whitecaps will be able to enjoy the sky.

ADDENDUM: The BC Place limbo continues.