Cameron MacEachern

So I have a blog. Neat-o.

If you were not aware, I have returned. You may remember hearing me on-air at any random time of the day between November 2006 and now. I left after graduating from SAERC to do that whole education thing in Dartmouth, but have made my way back home to work full-time while I wrap up my diploma for Radio & Television Arts. I'll be joining you on the drive home from 2-6pm, for good this time.

Seeing as I arrived in Cape Breton in just enough time to catch the end of the Olympic closing ceremonies (accompanied from Dartmouth by scandalous daydreams involving myself and Sidney Crosby), I didn't get to share many of my thoughts about those amazing two weeks in Vancouver. That being said, I likely wouldn't have experienced as much of the Games if I were working full-time and not able to stay up until 4am every day.

Enter: blog. Yeah, the games finished two weeks ago. Ya wanna fight about it? That jerk of a boss didn't activate this sucker until a couple of days ago.

Also, I lifted this idea from Greg. See above question. I'm going to change some stuff around and try not to give the same answers as he did... some of the top moments are the same for everyone, but there were some fantastic ones that were overshadowed.

Best moment I witnessed (aside from Crosby's OT winner, because that's too obvious): Bilodeau's gold was obviously huge, as Greg mentioned... my pick goes to the evening of February 24th. The rest of that day leading up to about 8:30, I was absolutely terrified. The Canadian men's hockey team was not looking so hot. They lost to the States just three days ago. But the US team is awful. They shouldn't be beating Canada. And now we have to play Russia? This early? This consensus gold medal matchup was coming two rounds too early, and one of these teams was going home without a medal. With the skill of the Russians, I couldn't be so sure it wouldn't be us. My fear was dispelled pretty quickly as Canada struck early and often, made our biggest foes look like fools, and paved the way to a semi-final matchup against "Sweden". Another gold medal-calibre game, but we were on top of the world after beating the Russians. Bring 'em on. Right after the game, CTV cut to the women's bobsled finals. Our ladies, including PEI's Heather Moyse, grabbed gold and silver there, capping off a 4-medal day for Canada, plus our men's hockey team would play for a medal. Oh, and "Sweden"? They lost to Slovakia that night in a huge upset, paving an easier path to the finals and a re-match with the US of A.

Best moment I missed: Jasey Jay Anderson's gold medal in parallel giant slalom snowboarding on the second last day of the Games. If anyone was due, it was this guy. We struck gold three times that day, setting up Sidney Crosby to punctuate the last sentence of that storybook, but this was the most refreshing of the day.

Best events I never really paid attention to before: Ski/snowboard cross. How intense are these events? Much more exciting than watching that timer in the bottom right corner flash to tell us whether or not the focus of our cheers is on the way to a medal. Head-to-head wins.

Biggest disappointment: I have a few. It's hard to be disappointed in athletes who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much just to compete at the Games, but I'm not above being a bit of a jerk. Let's be honest here; Cheryl Bernard should have absolutely had the gold medal in women's curling. She blew it in the 10th and 11th ends to hand Sweden the gold. I'm no curling buff but my understanding was that she was not expected to do as well as she did, so that makes it a bit easier to swallow. Can't help but be disappointed that it wasn't a gold, though. Sidenote: I was watching this one at Boston Pizza with no commentary on, so I was pretty proud of myself for actually being able to identify a bad shot when I saw one. Though from what I understand, the commentary might not have helped anyway... I'll get to that later. Mike Robertson's silver medal was very tough to take. Consider that his snowboard cross final came in the early stages, where we were absolutely desperate for success. Robertson held the lead the entire way, and managed to blow it on the final stretch to take silver. When they talk about how you don't win silver, you lose gold... Bernard and Robertson very much lost gold in these instances. However, at least they medaled; the Hamelin brothers finished 4-5 in the 5-man final of the 1000m short track speed skating, after leading the pack for the majority of the race. At least they made up for it in later races. Again, hard to be disappointed in these athletes, but even harder to watch those results slip through their fingers.

Best "soldiers": Joannie Rochette. Is there any doubt? How she found the strength to even lace up her skates so soon after her mother died is beyond me. The fact that she not only competed, but found herself on the podium, is something that will stay with me forever. Honourable mention to Clara Hughes, she added one more medal to her astonishing Olympic resume. A great performance from one of, if not the best athlete this country has ever produced.

Gold medal for whining: The South Korean short track speed skaters. There was that one coach who flipped out when the ladies relay team was disqualified, but mostly, these folks were all rotten sports. Not necessarily for whining, but how many times did you see a Korean skater pull a greasy move to get ahead? Some of them looked like Chris Pronger pre-lockout (or 2006 Olympics... or even 2010 Olympics) with the clutching and grabbing. I think that I would have punched every single one of them in the face if I were at the rink. Honourable mention to Lindsey Vonn. Boo hoo, you have a bruised shin and broken pinkie. They didn't bother you en route to a gold and bronze, but I guess it's always good to have an excuse to fall back on if you flame out.

Closest I came to losing it like a blubbering idiot: The final "I Believe" montage with all of the greatest moments from the Games. I spent every spare minute (and some that should not have been spared) watching the Olympics over the course of those two weeks, and it was emotional to see all of those fantastic moments presented in such a small package. This is, of course, if we don't count the loss to the USA in men's hockey.

Biggest waste of time: The gossip folks on some of CTV's coverage. I don't need to see Dan and Jessie from MTV or Lainey and Tanya Kim from E-Talk, they bring nothing to the table. Presumably it's to appeal to the younger audience. I'm 20, and I politely decline. And, Olympics aside, I never need to see Ben Mulroney. Never.

Best journalistic Olympic endeavour: Greg mentioned Stephen Brunt's video essay; whole-heartedly agree, check it out if you haven't. For reading material, check out some of Bruce Arthur's stuff from the National Post. This is a good start: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=034c7ad4-cf29-4738-85dd-55bcc3ef61d4 But this guy can write. Kudos to him.

Worst journalistic Olympic endeavour: I thought there was too much cheerleading coming from some of the CTV commentators to take the coverage seriously. Yes, their audience is almost entirely Canadian, but leave the cheering to us. It's especially apparent in Alex Bilodeau's golden run, and where Mike Robertson and (so I hear) Cheryl Bernard's stumbles were all but ignored by the announcers.

The ladies of the Olympics whom I would not object to taking for dinner and a movie: Tessa Virtue (Canada, ice dancing), Mellisa Hollingsworth (Canada, skeleton), Lindsey Vonn (U.S., alpine skiing), Meghan Agosta (Canada, hockey), Ashleigh McIvor (Canada, ski cross), Eve Muirhead (Great Britain, curling), Charline Labonte (Canada, hockey), Marie-Philip Poulin (Canada, hockey), Catherine Ward (Canada, hockey), Heather Moyse (Canada, bobsleigh)

In the spirit of fairness; the men that my girlfriend, Kenzie, and friend who I watched most of the games with found studly: John Morris (Canada, curling), Alexandre Bilodeau (Canada, moguls), Scott Moir (Canada, ice dancing), Charles Hamelin (Canada, short track), Francois Hamelin (Canada, short track), Ryan Getzlaf (Canada, hockey), Sidney Crosby (Canada, hockey) (this applies to me as well)

Best Olympic couple: Sure they may not be dating, but once you get over the fact that you aren't going to get a chance at whichever you prefer, don't you just WANT Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue to be together? Greg nailed it with Hamelin and St. Gelais but there's something about Moir and Virtue that would almost be a source of Canadian pride if they made some talented and extremely attractive children. Honourable mention to Heather Moyse and Kaillie Humphries... these two were more than just bobsleigh partners, but best friends. It was great to see them take gold together.

Most glaring omission from the Opening and/or Closing Ceremonies: Gord Downie and the Hip. Come on, they needed to be there. 

My absolute favourite moment of the Olympics: There were so many inspiring and important moments, but the one that struck a chord with me the most had to be Virtue and Moir's gold. These two are my age and are on top of the world at what they do. They had a blast doing it, and they really sparked a flurry of medals for Canada with their gold. They just seem like two really genuine people, and that's what the games are all about.

A final word: I really hope Own The Podium reconsiders its strategy for future Games. It was a fantastic idea, but not executed correctly. There was way too much pressure on the athletes coming into the Games. It's not very hard to figure out, either. Canada pulled 9 medals in 9 days to start the games. Not bad, but not as good as expected. On the morning of the 10th day, Own The Podium conceded that we would not, in fact, own the podium. How do our athletes respond? 17 medals in the last 7 days. They have the talent, but they don't need the pressure. Pump the money into the programs, then step back and let them do their thing. They can do it, and they showed it in the last week of the Games. They put enough pressure on themselves without us breathing down their necks.

Those two weeks were fantastic, something I'll always remember fondly. The games gave us a golden record, a golden goal, but most importantly, a revitalized sense of Canadian pride. Not bad, Vancouver.

And if you made it all the way to the end of this long-winded piece, I love you, mom.