February 13, 2010 - 11:54 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
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.
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January 29, 2010 - 11:49 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
September 4, 2009 - 3:52 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Since July 2, 2003, the day that Vancouver found out it had been successful in its bid for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, I have had a lump in my chest regarding the fact that the opening ceremonies would be held in…BC Place.
Ugh.
For a football game? Sure, the 27-year old stadium works well enough, I suppose. The cavernous hallways of the venue sports fans like myself often refer to as “the mausoleum” are perfectly suited to buy disgusting hot dogs and watered down beer. The lighting that makes you squint at times is great if you are trying to stay awake during a particularly uninspired performance by the BC Lions. The sound that reverberates around the stadium like a second rate ventriloquist is most often irrelevant with the advent of a scoreboard telling you what down it is and where the ball is on the field. And the smoke that hangs around for a good 10-15 minutes after any kind of pyrotechnics is quite pleasant for those with heart conditions.
But for the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympic games, where 2 billion people will be watching?
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