Hitting the Olympic Wall

It happens every Games. Its nickname: The Wall

And it's a bummer! Lots of it going around, sadly.

"The Wall" of the Olympic world is, of course, sheer Games fatigue that sets in after one's second or third week of nights with fewer than four hours of sleep.

This is the antithesis of "Olympic Fever" when folks who are otherwise Olympic fanatics start to pick mundane activities such as laundry or household chores as "a welcome break" from Olympic activities.

What is sad is that, in a few weeks or months (or even years), looking back at the Games, many will kick themselves asking "why was I worried about laundry when I could have been at an Olympic event?!"

For the first-timers enjoying their premiere Olympics, a.k.a rookies, "The Wall" during Vancouver (and past Games) started to show up in conversations around February 17-18.

Sophomore class Wall conversations in VanCity started popping up on February 20-21.

Senior class wall (for those at their third, fourth or more Games) is dropping in right about now (Feb. 24). And tomorrow brings "the final stretch" to the Closing for everyone (for the brave veterans, could mean little or no sleep for 2-3 days to tap the Games for every last bit of fun).

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Bell lap comes around on Saturday.

Two "walls" for me this Games struck thus far ... first, I hit a brick wall when my laptop crashed last Friday, costing me about three hours of precious work. The second wall came yesterday, after about the third instance of slapping myself across the face to stay awake! I also sold a couple of tickets to figure skating on the street, and accidentally left my Feb. 24 speedskating ticket in the envelope handed to a complete stranger (a $200 mistake -- DOH!)

Fortunately last night I got a few more hours of rest. Today was OK. But the rain makes me tired. Can hardly believe this time next week I'll be back in Atlanta, and a week after that in Dallas and Oklahoma City!

Lots of very, very cool experiences have not yet been written for the blog. I hope there won't be another "wall" and to post the interviews with Carl Lewis, Kristi Yamaguchi, B.C. Premiere Gordon Campbell (press conference) and visits to hotspots including USA House, Visit Britain's media night, the B.C. to Sochi mayor's handover presser, speedskating, pin trading, condo dwelling and new friends made.

Here are a few activities that are highly recommended for the home stretch:

-- Check out the Swiss House on Granville Island.

-- Pop into the Panasonic pavilion at LiveCity Yaletown (both the pavilion and LiveCity are clients of Edelman, the P.R. firm where I work). Be certain to view the video of Sarah Brightman created just for the Vancouver Games.

-- Head over to False Creek for the very fun Saskatchewan House (a pleasant, very laid back pavilion that had some great home-province musicians and one of my favorite Olympic pins for the Games).

-- Find a way into Sochi House, the preview pavilion for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. I really hope to get there (the only "access denied" venue for yours truly at the Vancouver Games ... but I will get in!).

-- Walk around B.C. Place to view the Olympic-colored lights installed around the base of the inflated dome (a nice touch).

-- Count the Canada flags on the high rise apartment buildings. On one tower alone near Yaletown and the Marina, there are more than 30 Maple Leaf emblems on display.

-- Take the bus through East Vancouver to the Pacific Coliseum, and be sure to view the statue celebrating the two runners who completed the perfect mile in the same race.

-- Snap some photos of the Allstate U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame chalk artwork, visible from the corner windows of USA House (on Seymour across the street from Irish House).

Hoping to make it to one of the mountain events on Saturday. Tickets, anyone?

Thank you for reading the blog.

2,417 Days Ago ...

Paraphrasing today's cover story of 24H newspaper, 2,417 days ago the IOC announced Vancouver to host the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. At long last, today is the day they begin.

Walking along False Creek this morning, with the Olympic Village across the water and B.C. Place all decked out on the horizon, was incredibly inspiring. And on the streets people are all smiles and proclaiming "It's finally here!"

For all the preparations, for all the planning, for all the anticipation and chasing the Olympic starting line, it's time to quote Sean Connery in The Untouchables, who proclaimed (after pursuing a bootlegger from the Canadian border crossing to a little log cabin, calling a halt to their chase), "Alright! Enough of this running sh*t!"

Another news source this morning also posted word leaked from the Opening Ceremony rehearsals, affirming at least four of the Canadian performers listed in the survey to the right of this column -- a nice mix of new faces and Olympic veteran performers. We could hear one of them singing as we walked to Gastown on Wednesday night. Can hardly wait. Hours away.

There are dozens of items I need to post from the last 48 hours: Sarah Brightman at the Panasonic (client) pavilion; the Canadian Tenors singing "Oh, Canada" at Canada House last night; chatting with Olympic legend Dick Fosbury; Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton. I will endeavor to post more during the weekend.

Have a great Olympic Day, Vancouver, and world. The best is yet to come!

Exploring The Olympic City

The last 72 hours were steady busy to intense, sensational to inspiring.

Saturday started with the move six blocks east (yes, "Moving On Up!" to the eastside) from a hotel to a new abode on Marinaside Crescent at a company-rented condo facing False Creek and the Olympic Village (unbelievable!).

Completed a bit of pin trading that afternoon before trekking to Horseshoe Bay for a ferry ride to the otherworldly gorgeous Bowen Island, where our Vancouver office GM and his wife hosted a client dinner at Blue Eyed Marys, a small, family-owned fine dining establishment where the menu changes monthly (delicious!).

On the ferry out to the island, one of the island's local politicos (and really nice guy) was on the front deck sharing his torchbearer story from "up north, near Whistler" as families clamored to shake his hand and pose with or hold his Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch. Very exciting to witness the spontaneous curiosity and awe of the kids of all ages checking out the local Olympic connection.

During the ferry ride back to West Vancouver, the sky was filled with dozens of synchronized searchlights (each night since Thursday there have been more and more searchlights shining upward across the city). "It's beginning to look a lot like Olym-pics" we sang in the car.

Super Bowl Sunday was a day of exploration, starting with a Sky Train ride down near the Main Press Center (MPC) and International Broadcast Center (IBC) on the northern waterfront -- what a gorgeous building that convention center turned out to be (it was a big hole in the ground when first I visited Vancouver in 2006).

From the IBC, another train got me to the Rusky Dom Sochi 2014 Russia House at Vancouver's iconic Science World. The place was under heavy transformation into what will likely be a hot ticket destination during Vancouver's Games.

I could not help but hum Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" while looking back across False Creek to the Edelman Olympic condo! The Olympic Village (just south of Science World) looks spectacular!

Also checked out the True North Media House, a social media centre for Vancouver's Games, which appeared to have a bit of work due to prepare for their planned opening this week.

Monday was an intense day of media pitching, calls, research and follow ups on a variety of fronts. Some of this work was from the desk, but we're also hitting the streets and meeting (or getting reacquainted with) an astounding number of international media across downtown. Monday afternoon also afforded me time with a national radio contributor front the U.S. as we both went through the MPC/IBC accreditation application procedures, visited The Bay (a client, where throngs of shoppers and media are in pursuit of Olympic gear) and lunch in the Vancouver's historic Gastown District.

Monday night was the first night all three Games roommates were under one roof at the condo, with our first house dinner (delicious vegetarian soup and sandwiches and Bailey's-infused hot chocolate) capping three days of adventures.

Tuesday was bookended with the Olympic Torch Relay.

At dawn, KING-TV and KONG-TV of Seattle aired live coverage of The Flame's arrival at the International Peace Arch on the British Columbia-Washington border.

During the day, more media pitching, networking at a press conference with Vancouver's Mayor at (client) Vancouver LiveCity Yaletown, a walk through of the B.C. Media Centre at Robson Square, more media and client calls. Whew!

And tonight brought the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay to the City of Richmond and "The O Zone" Olympic party area (definitely worth a visit during the Games -- I think my eyes spotted a Dutch House on site).

Tens of thousands of locals gathered on what was, from what I could tell, a high school track and field area transformed into an outdoor concert and party venue. After some interesting live music and a lot of jockeying for a decent camera position, the Olympic flame reached The O Zone via torchbearer Rick Hansen (a client), Canada's world famous "Man In Motion."

If you don't know Rick Hansen, you should!

On several short lists of Canadian favorites who might ignite the Olympic Cauldron on Friday night at B.C. Place, during the 1980s Hansen won Paralympic gold medals before hitting the road -- a LONG road of more than 25,000 miles across 34 nations -- to raise millions of dollars for spinal cord injury research.

More importantly, Hansen championed a movement to create an inclusive and accessible world for the disabled. His leadership during the last 25 years brought more than $200 million to the cause, but in his words tonight in Richmond, the journey is not over yet and his best work is still in front of him.

Well said!

In case you are wondering: Yes, that song from the film "St. Elmo's Fire" was inspired by and written for Rick Hansen's tour (once you learn about Rick, the lyrics really do take on a whole new meaning with so much more importance than any scenes of a youthful Demi Moore, Rob Lowe and Emilio Estevez). And during March and the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, the Man In Motion 25th Anniversary is on March 21.

Here's to another 25 years!

And here's to less than three more days and nights to the Big O!