Anyone going to the 2010 Olympics?

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
I've been thinking about going to the 2010 winter Olympics. I know it's incredibly last minute but my family has some close relatives in Vancouver that offered me to stay at their place. Plane tickets are also still relatively cheap although I may drive from California because there's other family along the way that I could visit.

Anyway, I've been thinking about it for a little while but my heart's not set on going. I just think it would be interesting to go to an Olympic games and I love winter sports. The last time I check a couple weeks ago there was also some tickets left for curling (I really actually like watching this), ice hockey, and a couple other events. I may just get tickets to two or three events and check stub hub while I'm there for anyone selling tickets at face value.
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
61
Do black people participate in the winter olympics? Please tell me. I must know.

only bobsledding.

Coolrunnings.jpg

everyone knows this.
 
Last edited:

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
Not that most people care, but I am going to the Olympics during the second weekend. I'll be staying with the relatives, but any locals have tips for me?
 

Gooberlx2

Lifer
May 4, 2001
15,381
6
91
I wish. I'd really love to attend a winter Olympics event. Hockey would be awesome. Also any of the ski races, bobsled and luge.

I think curling would be dull....but I did see an injury on TV at one of the last winter games. Girl slipped and cracked her jaw on her broom before she ate the ice. It was pretty hilarious, considering the event.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
No, unfortunately. I know a couple people who are interning at CTV for the games. They'll be at the Toronto station though.

Go Team Canada!!
 

InflatableBuddha

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2007
7,416
1
0
My folks got tickets for one of the long-track speed skating events. The oval is a short bus ride from where they live.

A buddy of mine works for the City of Richmond, so he's lining up Canadian athletes for some of the promotional events.

Some of my friends have tickets for events, but I couldn't afford them. So I'll be watching the events on TV during work (company is supporting this, thankfully), and I'll head downtown on the weekends for the free events.
 

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
I wish. I'd really love to attend a winter Olympics event. Hockey would be awesome. Also any of the ski races, bobsled and luge.

I think curling would be dull....but I did see an injury on TV at one of the last winter games. Girl slipped and cracked her jaw on her broom before she ate the ice. It was pretty hilarious, considering the event.

I got tickets to 2 man bobsled medal round, ladies aerials qualifications, cross country skiing team sprint, and woman's curling that has the US playing. Almost all the tickets were face value, so I got off pretty cheap with the tickets.

I got addicted to watching curling in 2002. I guess it's kind of like baseball in that most of the game is strategy and then following that plan as close as you can.
 

Gooberlx2

Lifer
May 4, 2001
15,381
6
91
I got tickets to 2 man bobsled medal round, ladies aerials qualifications, cross country skiing team sprint, and woman's curling that has the US playing. Almost all the tickets were face value, so I got off pretty cheap with the tickets.

Those events would rock.

I can appreciate curling..obviously I've watched it before. I just don't know if it's the kind of event I'd want to sit in cold-assed bleachers to see in person. But then, I probably see it too simply because it's the Olympics (especially if the US team is playing).
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
50,231
118
116
Curling is awesome. I've "played" it twice now and it's crazy difficult.

Very fun game and yes, very tough. Great game to play with buddies and get drunk.

I'll be in town for the second half of the Olympics (maybe all of it if I break up with the gf) but I will not really be gong to much. Maybe some of the free stuff at the park right outside my door.

KT
 

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
Very fun game and yes, very tough. Great game to play with buddies and get drunk.

I'll be in town for the second half of the Olympics (maybe all of it if I break up with the gf) but I will not really be gong to much. Maybe some of the free stuff at the park right outside my door.

KT

Cool. I'm staying in Port Moody. Is there a site that lists all the other stuff that's going on? We have a lot of free time in the evening as all the stuff is over by 2 PM or so.
 

syee

Senior member
Oct 6, 2001
827
0
76
I'm going to be in town (since I live in Vancouver) for the Olympics. Was thinking about getting out of town but couldn't get the days off.

There's supposed to be a bunch of "party zones" downtown (like in Robson Square and a bunch of other places) where you can party it up. Last I checked, there were a few tickets available but they may have been snapped up by now. My brother was telling me that some tickets are selling for less than face value so scout out Craigslist or the official reselling site and see what's going on there.

I was just walking by GM Place the other day to the Canucks game and saw a whole lot of portable tents put up in the parking lot near GM Place/BC Place. It looks like there's going to be quite a bit going on down there and they've closed off a few streets already setting up stages and such around there.

I have a few buddies that are coming up from Denver and flying into Seattle. It seems that flights are pretty cheap (about $170 which is really cheap) so flights aren't too expensive. Accommodation might be the bigger problem though. If you've got family up here, it's great. If not, be prepared to pay out the nose for somewhere to stay.

Also, if you're expecting a winter wonderland up here, you may be disappointed. It's been quite mild up here so there's not a lot of snow up on the local mountains where they're holding some of the events. It's been raining mostly so pack something for the rain. :D
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
A friend's son is on the US ski team, so I may try to watch..I won't be there, though.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,791
6,349
126
Be sure you have Tickets. I doubt there will be any left other than from Scalpers online.
 

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
Be sure you have Tickets. I doubt there will be any left other than from Scalpers online.

Already got them from the official Vanoc fan to fan marketplace. Bobsled tickets were $80 (face $40), ladies aerials were $50 ($50 face), X-country sprints were $25 ($25 face), and curling was $72 ($65 face). Add 10% to all the tickets for the marketplace fee. I got an amazing deal on the tickets because now they are going for 2-3X what I paid. Only the curling tickets have an actual seat, but I'm ok with the standing section.
 
Last edited:

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,791
6,349
126
Already got them from the official Vanoc fan to fan marketplace. Bobsled tickets were $80 (face $40), ladies aerials were $50 ($50 face), X-country sprints were $25 ($25 face), and curling was $72 ($65 face). Add 10% to all the tickets for the marketplace fee. I got an amazing deal on the tickets because now they are going for 2-3X what I paid. Only the curling tickets have an actual set, but I'm ok with the standing section.

Reasonable prices even. :)
 

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
I'm going to be in town (since I live in Vancouver) for the Olympics. Was thinking about getting out of town but couldn't get the days off.

There's supposed to be a bunch of "party zones" downtown (like in Robson Square and a bunch of other places) where you can party it up. Last I checked, there were a few tickets available but they may have been snapped up by now. My brother was telling me that some tickets are selling for less than face value so scout out Craigslist or the official reselling site and see what's going on there.

I was just walking by GM Place the other day to the Canucks game and saw a whole lot of portable tents put up in the parking lot near GM Place/BC Place. It looks like there's going to be quite a bit going on down there and they've closed off a few streets already setting up stages and such around there.

I have a few buddies that are coming up from Denver and flying into Seattle. It seems that flights are pretty cheap (about $170 which is really cheap) so flights aren't too expensive. Accommodation might be the bigger problem though. If you've got family up here, it's great. If not, be prepared to pay out the nose for somewhere to stay.

Also, if you're expecting a winter wonderland up here, you may be disappointed. It's been quite mild up here so there's not a lot of snow up on the local mountains where they're holding some of the events. It's been raining mostly so pack something for the rain. :D

Thanks for the info. It's me and my sister going and neither of us are party type people, but we'll definitely hang out downtown at night since all the events end early. Also, apparently you get free bus rides on the day of your event ticket so we'll take advantage of that. I got my tickets from the official Vanoc site as 1) happened to find good prices on all of them and 2) a hard copy of the ticket can be invalid if it was also resold on the marketplace. I know some scalpers will be trying that. I may try to get another curling event while in Vancouver but our trip is packed as it is. I was only realistically expecting to see one non-Vancouver area event, but instead we're going to three...

My sister got a plane ticket for $190 round trip from LAX to Vancouver, so amazingly they are really cheap still. I will be driving (tough choice though) from San Diego because I needed a car in Vancouver. We're staying with relatives in Port Moody (which is not close to downtown) and I didn't want to bother them with taking us to and from bus stops. The buses to Whistler and Cypress leave a few miles from their house and there's free parking there. So, the only driving near downtown I'll do will be to pick my sister up at the airport. Other than that, it's to get to the various pickup spots near Port Moody.

Yeah, El Nino appears to have driven the storms south and have hit California instead. The mountains near LA got five feet, yes feet, of snow last week and more is on the way. I love snow, but I'm ok with just seeing the trucked in loads at Whistler.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,791
6,349
126
Thanks for the info. It's me and my sister going and neither of us are party type people, but we'll definitely hang out downtown at night since all the events end early. Also, apparently you get free bus rides on the day of your event ticket so we'll take advantage of that. I got my tickets from the official Vanoc site as 1) happened to find good prices on all of them and 2) a hard copy of the ticket can be invalid if it was also resold on the marketplace. I know some scalpers will be trying that. I may try to get another curling event while in Vancouver but our trip is packed as it is. I was only realistically expecting to see one non-Vancouver area event, but instead we're going to three...

My sister got a plane ticket for $190 round trip from LAX to Vancouver, so amazingly they are really cheap still. I will be driving (tough choice though) from San Diego because I needed a car in Vancouver. We're staying with relatives in Port Moody (which is not close to downtown) and I didn't want to bother them with taking us to and from bus stops. The buses to Whistler and Cypress leave a few miles from their house and there's free parking there. So, the only driving near downtown I'll do will be to pick my sister up at the airport. Other than that, it's to get to the various pickup spots near Port Moody.

Yeah, El Nino appears to have driven the storms south and have hit California instead. The mountains near LA got five feet, yes feet, of snow last week and more is on the way. I love snow, but I'm ok with just seeing the trucked in loads at Whistler.

Port Moody is reasonably close, approx 45 minutes by Bus to Downtown Vancouver. A main Hwy connects the 2 directly. Traffic might be extra heavy during the Games though.

Be sure to bring your Passport, if you want to return to the US.
 

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
Port Moody is reasonably close, approx 45 minutes by Bus to Downtown Vancouver. A main Hwy connects the 2 directly. Traffic might be extra heavy during the Games though.

Be sure to bring your Passport, if you want to return to the US.

That's about what I was guessing. It's close enough to the action but too far to really do without a car.

Yep, I've got my passport. I don't think they'll let me into Canada without it even. Even when I went as a kid 15 years ago, they were pretty strict on documentation. My parents didn't have any IDs of us except for a health insurance card, so the border crossing agent joked around and asked my sister and I if we were sure these were are parents and that we could stay in Canada if we wanted to.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,791
6,349
126
That's about what I was guessing. It's close enough to the action but too far to really do without a car.

.

Really? I guess we have different Need thresholds. :D Having a Car wouldn't really be much faster, maybe 10 minutes difference, but I'm sure someone will happily Rent a Car to you. :)