I realize that, in general, Americans like to think of Canadians as a more polite and reserved North American variant of themselves, but know this: when it comes to the Winter Olympics, Canadians do not mess around.  And when Canadians are hosting said Winter Olympics, it is on. (I would, in fact, venture that Canadians feel even more proud and proprietary over the Winter Games than they do the American Space Shuttle and its Canadian-Built Arm, but that’s another post.)

The excitement is contagious even out here in Quebec, but I’ve been anticipating this Olympics for a while now.  Growing up, the Olympics were the only time that I watched sports, ever, and I remember being mesmerized by the alpine skiing at the tender age of seven.  Sure, you can scoff at the idea that sitting on the couch and watching TV for 17 days makes for a productive or worthwhile use of time, but the Jejune household is particularly fond of the communal television experience.  I still have the fondest memories of crowding our friends around the TV in Madison to watch Project Runway, for example, and there’s something that can be genuinely moving about sharing a team’s or an individual’s competitive journey: see the amount of time devoted to the Tour de France chez Jejune, or even So You Think You Can Dance, or, you know, the red-blooded Wisconsin male’s devotion to the Green Bay Packers.

Even though our own Olympic stadium is now a husk of its former self, Montreal’s stores are largely cleaned out of Olympic swag, and it seems like everybody knows somebody in Vancouver who’s volunteering at the games and/or renting their house out for an obscene sum of money.  Not only hockey, but curling, is Serious Business, and I’m looking forward to cheering for random athletes based on the most arbitrary of reasons, as well as the brief and selective flashes of patriotism that come and go depending upon who’s winning (or who has the most winning smile).  I would love nothing more than to see Stephen Colbert show up on NBC’s speed-skating commentary, I even think that the mascots are charming, and I have a serious amount of knitting carefully lined up and ready to go.

Bring it!

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