I don't know about you, but I'm really missing the Games. It's not just the sports, either, it's a lot of the little things.
First of all, and I never thought I'd be saying this, but I miss the song. It got to the point I'd heard 'I Believe' so many times I was hearing it in my sleep. One time, I swear, I thought I heard the jingle start up as I opened a pizza box.
I know CTV would rather the song just stay off the airwaves now, available only through iTunes download or on the CD from their website, but I'd rather see the tune go a little more mainstream. Alright, a lot more mainstream. In light of more recent lyric issues with 'Oh Canada', I'd like to nominate 'I Believe' to be our new national anthem.
I also miss the network mesh-ups thrown together by the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium. It was symbolic of how special these Games were to see TSN hockey analysts sitting right beside Sportsnet rivals, acting as colleagues. Like the countries of the world coming together to celebrate sport, Nick Kypreos and Bob McKenzie came together to slam Russian management decisions as one.
Did anyone else shed a tear or two as CTV and CBC legends Lloyd Robertson and Brian Williams celebrated each other's respective careers during the closing ceremonies? Moments in television history.
But of course, the sport was the main event. There's something so special about coming home from work, any time of night and day, and knowing you can throw on the TV to watch something competitive. And for me at least, it wasn't just because it was in Vancouver. I'm an Olympic-sports junkie, probably because I don't get the opportunity to watch the World cup circuits for a lot of these sports. Just like usual, now I'm left trying to fill the massive void.
When I'm at the Fergus office, now I like to stand outside and time people as they walk by, imagining they're cross-country skiers. I note how long it takes someone to get from ScotiaBank to Broderick's, then see if anyone can beat the time. One young man did it in 25 seconds, which is the current record. I've decided he was probably local, so Go Canada!
Instead of watching curling, a favourite of mine, I'm stuck with watching my three-year-old push the vegetable-de-jour around his plate at dinnertime. I imagine the very centre of his plate as rings in a house, and score him points accordingly.
Sadly, there's not much to take the place of hockey. Granted, there's the NHL, which is once again back to fill the gap left as true top-level international hockey takes another four-year hiatus. But there are more teams, which means all the talent is diluted, and the closest local team appears to have as much interest in the playoffs as Belarus did in the medal round.