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In the final days of the Olympics, the USSA Sport Science staff went out to sushi to say goodbye to one of our long time, esteemed colleagues.

During dinner, someone said, “We’re all a part of something huge. It will take some time to figure out how, but this will change all of our lives.”

I’m not yet sure how the experience will change mine, but I can’t overcome this overwhelming feeling of thankfulness. I’m gratified to be a part of one of the world’s largest and only traditions that is not motivated by politics or religion. I’m lucky to be a part of USA’s most successful winter Olympics ever. I’m humbled by the fact that I took part in something that is much bigger than me.

My trek to Whistler started on Feb. 3rd. Tschana, my great friend and colleague, and I volunteered to drive a cargo van in order to carry everyone’s excess luggage and equipment to the Games. It wasn’t just any cargo van though. It’s an old beast. A white Chevy, with no windows. We nicknamed it The White Stallion.

A long drive, but at least I had good company with Tschana. If you want to get a better idea of who Tschana is, just look up her name at urbandictionary.com. Don’t bother looking up my name though.

We’ve known each other since our days at NAU when she played soccer and I coached in the gym. She and I stuck together over the years and now work in the Sport Science department at the USSA.

Tschana navigated our trip. She mapquested a few of the best restaurants in the pacific northwest and printed maps that led us to each of these restaurants along our path.

With tasty food in our bellies, The White Stallion galloped it’s way up to Whistler on the night of February 5, just in time for the arrival of the equipment trucks that brought the Agaton nightmare.

What I haven’t mentioned about the Agaton saga, is that it happened in the midst of the Super Bowl.

I love the Super Bowl and I’ll go to great lengths to watch it.

In 2008, I stayed with the ski team in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Because of the time zone difference, the game started at midnight and no one in town showed it. In a last minute effort, we put our heads together. One of the guys had a slingbox subscription, so he downloaded the software onto my laptop. I tapped into satellite dish at his house, all the way across the world in Park City, and pulled the game up on my computer. The coaches grabbed their video projector and screen. The bartender loaned us her outlet converter. From a bar in St. Moritz, we watched the Super Bowl until four o’clock in the morning, as the Giants defeated the undefeated Patriots. We even got to watch American commercials.

On Super Bowl Sunday in 2009, we arrived to Val D’Isere, France at 11:30 p.m., for the World Ski Championships. I didn’t go into the hotel. I walked straight down the hill, checking every bar until I found one showing the game. The bars closed at 2:00 a.m., and with the French police standing outside the door, the bar owner snuck us into the basement and let us watch the rest of the thriller between the Cardinals and the Steelers. When the game finished, he snuck us out through an underground tunnel that kicked us into a snow packed alley about a 100 yards down the road.

This year, I adamantly pled with my supervisor to let me break away to watch the big game. He agreed, and I simply wandered down to Whistler Village and staked a table at one of Whistler’s premier Irish pubs, and waited for the game to start. I possessed great enthusiasm for this year’s matchup because the Colts are my favorite team. I watched the drama unfold until the Saints broke my heart with a 4th quarter interception that secured their championship.

Shattered, I moped back up to our condos, and into the Olympic Winter Games I went.

I have many Canadian friends. They’re all great people and I enjoy their company. I looked forward to my Canadian Olympic experience because I expected them to throw a huge party for their southern neighbors.

That was the case before the opening ceremony, but once the Olympics started, the unspoken rivalry between USA and Canada made the usually calm and relaxed people of British Columbia a bit hostile.

To make matters worse, USA dominated the first half of the Olympics. Over the first eight days, USA raked in the hardware, winning medals all over the place.

Meanwhile, Canada lingered.

During that seemingly challenging time for Canada, every Canadian looked forward to one day, Sunday, February 20, when USA and Canada would face off in the final preliminary game of hockey. They knew that USA already won three times as many medals as them, but hockey is Canada’s pride.

Of course, I wasn’t going to miss that!

Despite the apparent tension from the Canadians, we became friends with Kurt, Kat, and Harrison, the management at The Longhorn Saloon & Grill, one of Whistler’s most popular hangouts. In fact, they treated us so well that The Longhorn became our unofficial USA house.

They reserved the DJ booth for us, right in front of the jumbo projector screen. Yes, we sat directly in front of the screen that a sea of probably 400 Canadians in the bar watched during the game.

This was during a period before I felt gratified by the whole Olympic experience. I let my American arrogance shine with every USA goal. We jumped on our chairs and tables and mocked the Canadian crowd.

We chanted, “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

They sneered back at us, and maybe even threw a few cups of beer on us.

USA won 5-3, and I cannot say that I’ve ever had more fun watching a sporting event on tv. I can’t remember a better Super Bowl that was more entertaining. Watching USA defeat Canada in hockey, in a Canadian bar, at a Canadian Olympics, is an experience I’ll never forget.

When the buzzer went off, USA prevailed, and we temporarily smashed Canada’s hopes and dreams, their pride. It was a sweet moment, and we celebrated into the night.

Over the finial eight days of competition, USA continued their onslaught. In total, USA won 37 medals, which broke the all-time winter Olympic record of 36, set by Germany in 2002.

With so much success, it’s amazing that the USA didn’t win the Olympics. Many consider the country with the most gold medals to be the winning nation. We may have won a record setting 37 medals, but we only won 9 gold medals. Germany won 10, and you guessed it, Canada won 14!

Canada started off slow, picking up a few gold medals in the first week of competition, but their momentum soared in the final days.

For me, the Olympics started on a Sunday afternoon, when the Super Bowl interrupted the unloading of our equipment. They ended on a Sunday afternoon too, when the gold medal hockey game interupted our packing efforts once again.

It’s only appropriate that Canada worked their way back through the tournament to face USA the gold medal hockey game.

I made the moving truck driver sit and watch the game with us, but he didn’t mind. He’s Canadian.

The score was tight, but Canada outplayed USA. The only glimmer of hope for Team USA came when they pulled their goalie in the final minute and tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation.

It only took a few minutes of sudden death before Canada won the gold medal.

And that’s the story of the Olympics. Canada prevailed at home.

In the end, I must say that I’m proud of Canada. After all, they are the top hat of the United States. Without them, we wouldn’t be North America, but simply, America. If USA can’t win it all, then Canada is the only other nation I’d like to see at the top.

Suddenly, the people of British Columbia relaxed, once again becoming the friendly northern neighbors I’ve always known.

Shattered, I finished loading our equipment, including both Agaton, into the moving truck.

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Thanks to all of you readers, for allowing me to share this lifetime experience with you.