The Day Belonged to Bode
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For our first ever Olympic event, the Men’s Super Combined, we did not have to go very far. Our condo is right at Whistler Creekside, so with a short walk and a ride up the chairlift, we were soon at the venue. Volunteers in light blue jackets welcomed us with an enthusiastic good morning as we walked past the vendors and to the main viewing area. We managed to get third row center in the standing area for the downhill portion of the race, and squeezed up to second row for the giant slalom section later in the afternoon. We waited about 45 minutes for the races to start, watching videos on a large screen erected off the side of the racecourse. A large camera on a long boom would swing past us every now and again, causing the crowd (and us) to erupt into cheers, cowbell ringing, and flag waving. Dave and I soon struck up conversations with two Canadians from Victoria and Dave chatted with a Croatian fan who was crowded in with us. We heard French, Spanish, Croatian, and English all being spoken. Bode Miller, a fan favorite, made a nice run and ended up in seventh place at the end of the downhill.
The Downhill races went fairly quickly and I often would forget my discomfort from standing so long. We were so close to the end of the race that the snow crystals would swirl around our faces kicked up by the racers. The crowd was rowdy and fun and we were caught up in the excitement of the competition. There was an hour and a half break in-between the two sections of the race when we got to walk around and enjoy the sunshine. Meanwhile, crews on the hill set up the Giant slalom course half of which was viewable from the viewing areas. These races were fast and furious and some skiers failed to finish. Bode Miller’s slalom run was accented with a lot of cheers and cowbell ringing, but honestly I was surprised he did so well; he looked kind of shaky after it was over for him. After Svindal from Norway, who finished first in the downhill, failed to finish his slalom race, it was clear that it was all over and Bode won the gold. We stayed for the flower ceremony afterwards and marveled about witnessing history. Not a bad start to our time here at the Olympics!
We are all heading to bed now
to rest up for ski jumping tomorrow, but we wonder if there is any
way to beat today…the day that belonged to Bode Miller.
Andrea Neault
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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