2/18/10 Leader Telegram Article

Editor's note: Altoona natives Jennifer Holec and Amy Lund attended the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver this week. This is their final report for the Leader-Telegram.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - When we told people at home that we had tickets to curling, they asked why and felt sorry for us. But we knew better, because curling's popularity in Canada is second only to hockey.
We took a cab to the venue Tuesday and found out later we had been taken for a ride, literally. However, the lines for the bus depot were longer than the lines at Disney World. So, we chalked it up to experience.
As we approached the Vancouver Olympic Center, we saw thousands of people wearing Canada apparel. We thought there must be a Canada hockey game in the vicinity. Instead, we discovered that the Canada men's curling team had won in overtime.
The security line was longer than at the Whistler Sliding Center but still moved quickly. Mental note: Be aware of metal buttons on your clothes. It may lead to additional security screening. But that's another story.
Once inside security we had a bit of a wait before we could enter the coliseum. The weather was gorgeous, and it wasn't difficult to spend the extra time outside.
There was even entertainment for the people waiting outside. An a cappella group performed songs they had adapted for curling, a magician did card tricks and two of the Olympic mascots took pictures with spectators.
Once inside, we found our seats, which were not designed for people with hips. Our seats were two rows from the top, on one of the ends, and closest to the American women's team.
We had gone to the event knowing enough about curling to understand the basics of the sport. Seeing it live, however, showed us there was a lot more to sweeping a rock across ice than we had realized.
The crowd, mostly Canadians, was fired up. Canada was playing Switzerland, and there were probably 50 Swiss fans in the building. Every time the Swiss fans started to cheer, they were quickly drowned out by "Go, Canada, Go!" It felt like we were cheering for our favorite team at somebody else's stadium.
There were an equal number of American and Japanese fans, and a few from Russia and Sweden. There was someone constantly cheering.
One of the best things about watching curling is there are four matches going on at one time and always action somewhere on the ice.
Overall, the crowd was knowledgeable about curling and appreciated good throws, even if it wasn't by their team.
We were surprised by the closeness of the matches, which kept the atmosphere electric. It was an exciting event to go to, although totally different from the luge competition the day before.
We are glad we came on this trip, but if we were to do it again, we definitely would do a few things differently. We would allow more time to make sure we could see everything we wanted to see, such as the Olympic flame. We realize now that 2 1/2 days was not enough time to appreciate the surroundings and the Olympic spirit.
This doesn't mean, however, that our trip wasn't worth it. We have had an adventure to remember. We have done and seen so many new things in our time here, and we are thankful for all our new buddies.