Shine On You Crazy Northern Diamond

The Vancouver Olympics finally ended after sixteen strange days that had everything from death to sudden death to gigantic inflatable beavers.

It was an Olympics that was marred from technical problems right from the very start and was hampered by the oddly gorgeous winter weather. Through the tragedy and embarrassments were some genuinely unique moments of great competition and photo finishes. In tonight's closing ceremonies, Team Canada tried to prove every Canadian stereotype correct by having a strange blend of Mounties, Beavers, Moose, comedians and Russians perform the closing ceremonies. It was odd, somewhat stilted, purely Canadian and were a fitting end to the close of a strange set of games.

It was also a far cry better than the 2008 China Olympics.

Why you ask? Simple. These were real games.

The spectacle in China was a sight to behold for its artistry and pinpoint precision but how could anybody not see that the only way that that scene was possible was because everybody in that country is suppressed by hard line Communists. That precision was only achieved at gunpoint. The precision of a Swiss watch, the cruelty of a Russian gulag. These Vancouver games were human, not a PR job to fool the world. These games had some errors because nature and the human condition are imperfect at best. The law of averages dictates that something is bound to happen. An authoritarian society can hammer out the possibilities of some errors through its iron fist but these games are supposed to be a celebration of the human spirit, not a display of what can be achieved by suppressing it.

While it's tragic that life was lost during these games, I'm glad for the way things turned out. I'm glad Canada decided to end this thing with Mounties, a hockey fight, beavers, moose and Shatner. It wasn't a show, it was from the heart and Canadian freedom is still as real today as it was before the games. I think the world can live with an Olympics where civil liberties were held intact even if one of those goofy looking torch things didn't quite light right. The only improvement would have been removing Mike Buble and replacing him with a fountain of Molson.

I suspect we'll see more of the same in two years at the summer games in London. You can go a long with politeness and courtesy and the Brits seem to have a reservoir of those things. I hope the Russians can be as well mannered in four years as the Canadian were this month.

I also hope I can see some curling between now and then.