Paralympic Opening Ceremony - Review

Overall I liked the ceremony - it had a lot of heart, even if it wasn't as big or showy as the Olympic one.  It's purpose and tone was entirely different than the Olympic Opening Ceremony.  I suppose that makes sense.  The goal of the Olympics was to showcase Vancouver, and Canada and how well the organizing committee can put on a successful games - it's a huge commercial really. Whereas the Paralympics are focused solely on the athletes and the fact they are participating.

And really, while obviously Canadian examples of Terry Fox and Rick Hansen were profiled, the theme of "One Inspires Many" fits very well with the International Paralympic Committee's vision and mission.

Interestingly, before the Olympic Opening Ceremony most interest surrounded the probability of Rick Hansen or Terry Fox's parents being the final torch bearer who was to light the cauldron.  As it turned out, all were involved on the final day's run (Rick Hansen making it into the stadium).  And at no time did I ever hear anyone make any Olympic vs. Paralympic arguments.  It was all about how to best represent Vancouver, Canada, athletic endeavour and the human spirit. Kinda makes you warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?

Everyone in Canada was Watching the Olympic Men's Gold Medal Game - Here's Proof!

The water utility in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week. By now you’ve probably heard that up to 80% of Canadians were watching last Sunday’s gold medal Olympic hockey game. So I guess it stands to reason that they’d all go pee between periods.
But still—the degree to which the water consumption matches with the key breaks in the hockey game is stunning.

EPCOR regularly tracks water consumption during major sporting events, and saw a similar milestone pattern in the 2006 Stanley Cup final with the Edmonton Oilers, Mr. Gibbs says.

Similar surges were seen across the country during Vancouver's Olympic Men's gold medal hockey game. Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator reported a 300 megawatt increase in power use just before the game started as people fired up their TVs.

I'd be really interested to see Vancouver's consumption from Metro Vancouver and BC Hydro.  But the real question is: what would have happened if they all flushed at once?

Courtesy: Pat's Papers & Globe & Mail