VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Scenes from the upper deck of Canada Hockey Place for the U.S.-Canada gold medal hockey game (with most recent updates on top) …

(Luke Winn/SI)

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Canada 3, U.S. 2, parting words: This was a game I did not expect to see firsthand. Fans were paying thousands to get in, and even the media tickets were scare — I didn’t get mine until about 80 minutes before faceoff, and went on a sprint from SI press office to the arena. I somehow found myself in a spot in the upper deck, from which I could turn over my right shoulder and see the entire emotional range of Wayne Gretzky and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during an overtime thriller. I could see Donald Sutherland sitting in front of them, not exactly pleased to have all these cameras trying to take shots over his head of the Great One. And I walked by Gordie Howe (at right) in the hallway afterwards, as jubilant fans posed with him for pictures. We were all lucky to have a view from above of Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal — the defining moment of Vancouver’s Games. I’m off to the Closing Ceremony, where no magnitude of malfunction could spoil Canada’s party.

• Canada 3, U.S. 2, game over: The smoke from the postgame fireworks has finally cleared here, and fans are spilling out of the exits and into the streets, clanging cowbells and screaming like madmen. Canada’s Olympic medal haul would not have been complete without this victory, which helped the country set a record for golds in one Games. Taking gold in hockey mattered most, though, and they did it in the most exciting of ways — a sudden-death goal by national hero Sidney Crosby. An article in a Toronto paper this morning that said Sid, who’d been somewhat average throughout these Olympics, no longer needed to be “the guy” for Team Canada. But that’s exactly what he was on Sunday.

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Canada 3, U.S. 2, game over: All of Canada Hockey Place is chanting “Crosby, Crosby!” Sidney picked a fine time to score his first point in three games, putting a forehand past Ryan Miller to win it in sudden death for the Canadians. The Next One now has a Stanley Cup and a gold medal in back-to-back years — that makes him at least somewhat of a big deal in Canada, right?

This was the scene on the ice just after Crosby’s goal:

(Luke Winn/SI)

And this is what Team USA looked like, as it watched that celebration:

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Canada 2, U.S. 2, 18:37 left, overtime: I just realized that this Russian “journalist” next to me has been chewing up the paper in his little notebook and spitting it out during the whole game. There are wet spitwads all over the cement under his seat. Basically, he’s spent the whole game either chewing paper, screaming into a cell phone, or sneaking a VHS camcorder out of his backpack to take clandestine (non-allowed) video of the action. Sochi should be amazing in 2014.

• Canada 2, U.S. 2, end of third period: Wayne Gretzky is sitting down, with his face in his hands. The Great One had been up on his feet for the final minute of what looked like a gold medal for Team Canada — until Zach Parise struck with a miracle goal with just 25 seconds left in the game. A small American contingent behind the U.S. bench went nuts, but otherwise, the air was sucked out of this place. Really strange atmosphere in here as we wait for overtime. The Canadian fans are trying to stay upbeat — the ones who appear on the scoreboard are dancing, at least — but a lot of them have stunned expressions on their faces.

(Luke Winn/SI)

That photo above is of the Americans, post-goal. They just played the Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling on the house speakers. The chorus to that song is, “Tonight’s gonna be a good good night” — but I’m no longer so sure of that for the Canadians.

• Canada 2, U.S. 1, 3:32 left, third period: Ryan Miller just ranged way out of his net to thwart a Sidney Crosby breakaway, jabbing the puck away with his goalie stick to keep the U.S. alive for the final few minutes. It’s getting extremely loud in here as the clock ticks down.

• Canada 2, U.S. 1, 5:05 left, third period: The only two audible chants in here: The ubiquitous (at the Olympics) “Go, Canada Go!” And “LUUUOOOOO,” for Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo, who just stonewalled the U.S. once again, going to his knees — and then putting his helmet on the ice — to stop a backhand from Ryan Kesler. Luongo is 28-of-29 on saves thus far, and having a stellar game.

• Canada 2, U.S. 1, 10:00 left, third period: As the Canadians launch an all-out assault on the U.S. net — they’ve already hit the post twice, and had Ryan Miller sprawling out for multiple saves — I’ll pass along some music notes from the arena. There’s clearly a Phishhead at the controls somewhere, as Kill Devil Falls was played during the first period (as well as some good stuff from Tom Petty and Michael Franti during the rest of the game):

The Beatles: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Phish: Kill Devil Falls
Steppenwolf: Born to Be Wild
The Romantics: What I Like About You
That horrible Cotton Eyed Joe Song
Reel 2 Real: I Like To Move It
Michael Franti: Say Hey (I Love You)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down a Dream

• Canada 2, U.S. 1, start of third period: Just wandered around the concourse of the 300 level during the intermission, and overheard one of the approximately 11,000 dudes in here wearing Team Canada jerseys saying to a friend, “Have I mentioned yet that this is the single greatest day of my life?”

To which his friend said, “You’ve mentioned that like 30 times.”

A lot of people here are going to lose their minds if Canada maintains this lead.

(Luke Winn/SI)

On my way back to my seat, Donald Sutherland was kind enough to offer me a coffee. (Well … not really … but it kind of looks that way, doesn’t it?)

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Canada 2, U.S. 1, 7:22 left, second period: The Americans have come alive! Just as Canada Hockey Place was getting sleepy — the Canadians had stopped celebrating their second goal and were slowly chanting, “Miller, Miller” instead — the Americans went on a counter-attack. From the right wing, Patrick Kane flung a shot in in the direction of a cutting Ryan Kesler, who deflected it off a spot just above his stick blade. The puck found daylight under Robert Luongo’s right armpit and tumbled into the net. The game has changed — and I suspect we’re in for an epic third period.

• Canada 2, U.S. 0, 10:00 left, second period: Every time they show an American on the scoreboard here, something bad happens shortly thereafter for Team USA. First it happened to Vince Vaughn (before Jonathan Toews’ goal). Now, it just happened to the Night Train crew that won gold in four-man bobsled; a few minutes after they appeared, Corey Perry put a glove-side wrister past U.S. goalie Ryan Miller to give the Canadians a 2-0 lead. They have all the momentum, shutting down a U.S. power play right after the goal. Goalie Roberto Luongo even escaped what looked like a sure scoring chance by Jack Johnson, making a superb save with an extended right pad. I’m worried about the Canadians scoring again, too: The latest in-house interviewee was American nordic combined medalist Johnny Spillane.

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Canada 1, U.S. 0, start of second period: I think you have to be a gold medalist to even get access to this game as an Olympic athlete. It was that tough of a ticket. So far on the scoreboard, they’ve showed curling hero Kevin Martin ….

(Luke Winn/SI)

… skeleton winner Jon Montgomery …

(Luke Winn/SI)

… and Mark Messier, who hasn’t won a gold here, but happens to be quite famous, and is also the general manager for Canada’s 2010 world championship team:

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Canada 1, U.S. 0, end of first period: Both teams should be coming out angry for the second period. Just as the horn sounded in the first, U.S. defenseman Jack Johnson lit up Canada’s Corey Perry and started a scuffle. Ruan Getzlaf was the Team Canada member who took the most offense, swinging at Johnson as refs tried to get in the way. No penalties were called, but Johnson had to be escorted to the tunnel for the intermission.

• Canada 1, U.S. 0, 7:10 remaining, first period: I’m blaming Vince Vaughn for this one. The dude is bad luck. During a stoppage in play right before Canada’s first goal, the videoboard showed Vaughn sitting in the stands, wearing a U.S.A jersey. (I wasn’t quick enough to snap a photo — I’m sorry about that.) Jonathan Toews then went and slammed home a rebound after fellow forward Mike Richards did the dirty work, stealing the puck behind the U.S. net and getting off a quick wrist shot that American goalie Ryan Miller could only deflect.

• 10:09 remaining, first period: The energy finally picked up here midway through the first period. American defenseman Brooks Orpik sent Canadian forward Dany Heatley into the U.S. bench with a check. Shortly after that, the Americans nearly snuck a goal under Roberto Luongo’s right pad, but play was whistled dead in a commotion around the net. Canadian fans sitting on the other end of the ice began slow chants of “Miller, Miller,” taunting the U.S. netminder.

• Just before faceoff: There was a commotion up here in section 308 as royalty arrived: Wayne Gretzky and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are sitting a few rows up and across the aisle from me. And in front of them? None other than Donald Sutherland. I’m kind of baffled as to why the Great One doesn’t have a lower-level (or skybox) seat for this thing. I’m actually closer to the ice than he is. And I’m not that close.

(Luke Winn/SI)

• Seven minutes until faceoff: While waiting in the media security line, I called “Mo,” my favorite ticket scalper that I’ve met this week. I had his card, which just says “OLYMPIC TICKETS” on it along with his cell phone number. He quoted me $2,200 for a lower-level seat and $1,500 for an upper, which was less than I expected. And that was just the first-quote-over-the-phone price; as it neared noon on the street, I’d imagine there were folks who got inside for closer to $1,200.

• 10 minutes until faceoff: I’m watching this from section 308 at Canada Hockey Place — otherwise known as the “media non-tabled section.” From the looks of it, it’s mostly freeloaders scoring seats to the biggest event of the Games. Maybe 15 percent of us have laptops up here (on our actual laps). The Russian guy next to me is alternating between reading a novel and shouting to other non-working (but credentialed) Russians.

• 28 minutes until faceoff: The bear is in the building:

(Luke Winn/SI)

• 33 minutes before faceoff: The U.S. team taking the ice for warmups:

(Luke Winn/SI)

• 42 minutes until faceoff: This pretty much sums up the Canadian attitude inside the arena. These Olympics won’t be complete without a pair of hockey golds.

(Luke Winn/SI)

• 70 minutes before faceoff: The arena is really a dreary place from the outside, even for a monster game …

(Luke Winn/SI)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — On the final day of these Games, I present a 28-photo mosaic of the best headgear I’ve seen in my travels:

Guide to the grid, from left to right:

Row 1: Norwegian ski jumping fan in Whistler; German biathlon fans in Whistler (x2)
Row 2: Russian speedskating fan in Richmond; Canadian hockey fan in Vancouver; British bobsled fan in Whistler
Row 3: U.S. snowboarder Shaun White (x2) at Cypress; U.S. speedskater Ryan Bedford in Richmond
Row 4: U.S. snowboarder Louie Vito in Vancouver; Riot policeman in Vancouver; Mountie in Whistler
Row 5: German biathlon fan in Whistler; Canadian hockey fan in Vancouver; Austrian ski jumping fan in Whistler
Row 6: American skiing fan in Whistler; Dutch speedskating fan at Heineken House; Dutch speedskating fan in Richmond
Row 7: American skiing fan in Whistler; Sochi 2014 hat in Whistler; Swiss skiing fan in Whistler
Row 8: Austrian ski jumping fan in Whistler; Norwegian biathlon fan in Whistler; Unidentified luge fan in Whistler

SI.com enlisted the help of the bloggers behind Canadian Design Resource to author a series of posts on the design spirit of their country’s three Olympic Games: Montreal 1976, Calgary 1988, and Vancouver 2010. In the final post, CDR’s John Ryan takes a look at the Canadian Olympiads that never happened: the failed bids.

While the United States holds the record for rejected Olympic bids (44, including seven from Detroit alone), Canada has had its fair share of failures, leaving behind design artifacts that never saw the light of day. Were it not for a legacy of attempted bids extending as far back as 1960, Vancouver-Whistler wouldn’t be the place it is today.

In 1960 a group of Vancouver businessmen formed the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association and began the long process of cultivating the remote mountain range now known as Whistler Blackcomb. With minimal road access, no sewage or hydro, and no lifts or lodges, Whistler was a far cry from a world-class ski resort. This artist’s rendition (from 1960) of what Whistler could someday be was instrumental in inspiring support for development of the area.

Artist’s Rendering of Whistler
1960

(Whistler Museum & Archives Society - museevirtuel.ca)

In 1966, after six years of construction and development, Garibaldi Lifts Limited (a for-profit sister company to GODA) opened a ski lodge with gondolas, T-bars and a double chair lift. But long before any amenities were in place, GODA was already generating support for an official Olympic bid. The postcard below shows a kinetic oil pastel rendering of a skier and a figure skater, as well as an early iteration of Garibaldi’s bid logo, featuring a stylized torch sitting atop a bold slab-serif G. Unfortunately, GODA’s efforts were unsuccessful. They lost the Canadian nomination to Calgary, which in turn lost to Mexico City (a Games that ended up featuring some of the best non-Canadian Olympic designs ever).

Rally’Round Postcard
1961

(Whistler Museum & Archives Society - museevirtuel.ca)

GODA tried again for the ‘76 Winter Olympics, claiming the Canadian nomination in ‘74. But it ultimately lost out when Montreal was nominated — and later won the bid — for the ‘76 Summer Olympics. This black-and-white logo for Vancouver/Garibaldi’s near successful ‘76 bid features a stylized 76 glyph, with sans-serif titling and an italicized serif strapline. The presentation of this logo is much more in line with Montreal’s designs, and is indicative of Canadian design at the time: a mix of international modern styling and classic typography.

Vancouver/Garibaldi Olympic Bid Logo
1970s

1976 bid logo

After additional unsuccessful bids in ‘80 and ‘88, Vancouver-Whistler finally won the bid for 2010. But Vancouver isn’t the only Canadian city to have failed to host an Olympic Games. Montreal had eight failed attempts stretching as far back as 1932. One can only wonder if the outputs of the ‘76 Games would have been of the same caliber were it not for the city’s decades-long dream of hosting an Olympics.

Below we see a rare image of Montreal’s bid book for the XXth Olympiad in 1972. The cover features a photograph depicting Montreal as a bustling metropolis, starkly contrasted by the regal styling of the typography, which says “Montreal Invites and is Ready.” The layout and design of this cover closely resembles the Royal portrait seen at the front entrance of public schools throughout Canada.

XXth Olympiad 1972 Bid Book
c1970s

(OlympianArtifacts.com)

Although Toronto may be Canada’s largest city, and often cites itself as the nation’s cultural hub, it has failed to win Olympic bids on multiple occasions. Seen below are artifacts of Toronto’s failed bid for the 1996 Summer Games. With Gottschalk+Ash International taking the reins on the design of the proposal, the overarching theme of the creative was celebration, energy and vitality.

Official Toronto ‘96 Bid Book
Gottschalk+Ash International, circa 1990

(Gottschalk+Ash International)

The Toronto ‘96 logo features a triad of firework-like bursts framing a knocked out capital T, with the predominant colors of the bid being red, orange, and pink — choices that were completely in-line with the trends of the time, but appear somewhat questionable now.

Toronto ‘96 Bid Logo
Gottschalk+Ash International, circa 1990

(Gottschalk+Ash International)

Later iterations and outputs of Toronto’s bid would feature a toned-down, blue-and-white theme, as seen in the bid poster below, which features the official slogan, “Meeting Place on a Great Lake.” Though the Toronto bid tended more towards the crisp modern aesthetic of Montreal ‘76 (leaving behind the “jazziness” of Calgary’s outputs in ‘88), its logo did commit one cardinal sin of design: a prime mark– a glyph used exclusively for denoting the (non-metric) inches and feet units of measurement — instead of a leading apostrophe in the abbreviated 96.

Toronto Bid Poster
Gottschalk+Ash International, circa 1990s

(OlympianArtifacts.com)

Ultimately, Atlanta won the ‘96 bid, with Greece placing second and Toronto coming in third. However, many felt that Greece was the natural choice to host, and Toronto a better choice in terms of infrastructure and environment, so it’s of little surprise that there were rumblings and allegations that the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) had bribed IOC members with cash, scholarships for their children, and free heart surgery. That discolored a close race, and foreshadowed the IOC Bribery Scandal of 2002.

Though each of these bids failed, their designs had lasting impact. In the cases of Whistler and Montreal, each bid was but one step in a process that ultimately led to hosting the Games. And though Toronto has yet to have a successful bid, the design and creativity that went into its pitches did much to inspire and galvanize the city in the face of both NIMBY-ers and the IOC’s back-room operators — meaning that it could very well be the site of Canada’s next Olympiad.

(Luke Winn/SI)

(Luke Winn/SI)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Saturday’s figure skating Exhibition Gala went off controversy-free, unless you count the girl from Tokyo who walked the concourse wearing a customized Russian flag that said “Evgeni Plushenko” in the red stripe and “You are true 1st place!” in the white stripe. She was still ticked about American Evan Lysacek winning gold with a quad-free routine, and said to me, “Plushenko is best athlete, best skater.”

Her beloved Plushenko skated right before the intermission. I had hoped he would bring his self-awarded Platinum Medal along for the show, but no dice. The International Skating Union didn’t recognize the Platinum, either; when Plushenko’s name appeared on the scoreboard, he was described only as “2nd Place.”

Plushenko skated like a second-place guy, too, with a clunky landing on his first triple, and some average transitions. His routine wasn’t in the same league as Lysacek’s, which, for the second time in 10 days, was flawless and artistically superior. Lysacek skated second-to-last, wearing some sort of suede or velour tuxedo (there was no media availability, so I couldn’t ask for clarification). For $20, you could buy a closed-circuit radio and listen to a trio of commentators not bound by traditional decorum; one of them, Canadian skating coach Jamie McGrigor, said that Lysacek’s look fell “somewhere between a maitre d’ and a movie star.”

When I did a post from the men’s final last week, I thought I’d found the best form of pre-skate entertainment — a show choir doing an Earth, Wind & Fire adaptation on the walk up to Pacific Coliseum. I was wrong, because on Saturday, they had contortionists performing on pedestals in the concourse:

(Luke Winn/SI)

Why couldn’t anyone try something that difficult on ice at the exhibition? A “gala” is apparently not the place for taking major risks — it seems to be treated as more of an opportunity to wear blue jeans. Canadian ice dancer Scott Moir, German pairs skater Robin Szolkowy (below at right) and American ice dancer Charlie White (below at left) all jumped at the chance for a Casual Day on Ice:

(Luke Winn/SI)

As for the music, I was excited when I saw on the program sheet that White and his partner Meryl Davis would be skating to Billie Jean. But it turned out not to be the version that’s one of the greatest pop songs of all-time. Instead it was a cover by a former American Idol contestant named David Cook. Who does it in blues-folk style.

(Luke Winn/SI)

The most curious musical selection was by Russia’s bronze-winning ice dancers, Maxim Shabalin and Oksana Domnina (seen above). They skated to a song from The Matrix soundtrack, which I’m pretty sure is called Clubbed to Death. That title also described how the closed-circuit radio crew treated the pair’s routine and Matrix-themed costumes, opining that things always seem to go wrong when Russian skaters do interpretations of Western pop culture. Just before they started, McGrigor asked, “Are they gonna dodge some bullets?”

No bullets, no Morpheus, no Matrix. At the gala, Neo was only an ice dancer.

SI.com has enlisted the help of the bloggers behind Canadian Design Resource to author a series of posts on the design spirit of their country’s three Olympic Games: Montreal 1976, Calgary 1988, and Vancouver 2010. Today, CDR’s Michael Erdmann and Todd Falkowsky take a look at protest art for the Vancouver Games:

Protestors in Vancouver have pointed to a laundry list of complaints, from the environmental footprint of the event, to the commodification of indigenous culture, to infringements on personal expression and privacy. In light of Vancouver’s homelessness problem, and unprecedented funding cuts to the arts and education, critics question the logic and benefit of massive Olympic spending — especially when the profitability of the Games is up for debate.

While the frustration of protestors is evident, many see the Olympics as an opportunity to expose their message to a global audience. Tapping into DIY design, activists craft guerilla posters, graffiti campaigns, public demonstrations and educational projects that demand to be heard. This is not typically the realm of “good design,” but these messages relay an urgency and sincerity that corporate design cannot match. The following images are a sampling of protest art found on the streets of Vancouver:

Olympic Ring Parody
Jesse Corcoran, The Crying Room, 2009

This piece was recently reinstalled outside the Crying Room gallery after the city wrongly assumed that it was graffiti:

(The Blackbird - flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow)

Convergence February 2010 Poster
Gord Hill, no2010, 2010

(flickr.com/photos/sillygwailo)

Dead IOC Prez
Gord Hill, no2010, 2008

(flickr.com/photos/sillygwailo)

Give 2010 The Finger
Poverty Olympics

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/)

 End Poverty Banner
Poverty Olympics, 2008

This banner was used in the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Poverty Olympics. Following the event it was added to this Olympic billboard outside of Canada Place:

(The Blackbird - flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow)

With Glowing Hearts We Kill The Arts
Graffiti

During a campaign to “clean up” Vancouver in advance of the Olympics, the city painted over a series of murals commissioned by the Steve Nash Foundation in 2007. In response, this graffiti appeared a few days later, only to be painted over again:

(The Blackbird - flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow)

Stop The Greenwash Flyer
Gord Hill, no2010, 2009

(The Blackbird - flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow)

Trickle Down
Sonny Assu, 2009

This bus shelter poster by Sonny Assu is actually part of the Cultural Olympiad, an Olympic-sanctioned art festival. By sticking to indirect critique, Assu’s work made it past VANOC’s propaganda clause, which asks artists to “refrain from making any negative or derogatory remarks respecting VANOC, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Olympic movement generally, Bell and/or other sponsors associated with VANOC.”

(The Blackbird - flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow)

Blood On Your Hands
2010 Corporate Campaign, 2009

Part of a series aimed directly at Olympic sponsors, this info flyer takes aim at HBC’s colonial roots (which are also Canada’s colonial roots, despite what our Prime Minister seems to believe), but unfortunately ignores anything from the last 100 years:

(2010 Corporate Campaign - 2010campaign.wordpress.com/)

Petro-Canada Is Making A Killing
2010 Corporate Campaign, 2009
 

(2010 Corporate Campaign - 2010campaign.wordpress.com/)

Red Tent Campaign
Pivot Legal Society, 2010

Picking up on a concept pioneered in France, the Red Tent Campaign aimed to increase the visibility of Vancouver’s homeless population by distributing these red tents during the Games:

(Barry Calhoun - redtents.org/blog/)

Save Winter Campaign
Dogwood Initiative, 2010

The Save Winter campaign was designed to capture some of the Olympic media spotlight. Playing perfectly off of VANOC’s much-talked-about weather woes, Dogwood created their own team of winter-sport-loving mascots, but instead of gold medals, these mascots are cheering for snow (via political action on climate change). Like Dogwood’s successful Tankers Are Loonie project, the project also includes decals that alter the face of Canada’s two dollar coin, hijacking currency to spread their message. 

(http://savewinter.ca/)

Why did Vancouverites protest 2010 Winter Games?  Because they could. Citizens of future host cities may not be so lucky.

Bob de Jong (left), a spokesman for designated drivers, celebrated his bronze at the Heineken House. (Luke Winn/SI

SI’s Alexander Wolff is stationed on the far fringe of the Olympic scene, covering long-track speedskating. He’ll be filing regular blog dispatches from the edge.

To judge by the video and images Luke posted here last week, speedskater Bob de Jong of the Netherlands is a world-class wastrel. His wild black hair gives him the look of someone freshly emerged from a session in an Amsterdam coffee shop. And while presiding over the bacchanalia in Richmond’s Holland Heineken House on Tuesday night, de Jong seemed well-acquainted with the title sponsor’s product.

The BOB keychains.

Turns out that de Jong, the accidental medalist in the 10,000 meters after countryman Sven Kramer’s disqualification, is something of an ascetic. He lives in a spartan garret in Berlin and devotes himself obsessively to his athletic craft. That wild hair is cultivated, he says, so the hood of his speed suit will puff up in just the right, aerodynamic way. In fact, the Dutch know Bob as spokesman for BOB, a nationwide campaign against drunk driving. BOB is an acronym for Bewust Onbeschonken Bestuurder — literally, “conscious non-drinking driver,” or designated driver. Pass a breathalyzer test at a random checkpoint in the Netherlands, and you’re handed a BOB keychain.

It’s not an Olympic medal. It’s not even an Olympic pin. But as a token — dare I say “Bob-ble” — of my fortnight in Holland-on-the-Fraser, I want me a BOB keychain.

The U.S. Night Train crew sits in first place heading into Saturday's final runs in four-man bobsleigh. (Bob Martin/SI)

WHISTLER, British Columbia — America’s elite four-man bobsled team, The Night Train, preceded its track-record Heat 2 run on Friday with a performance of its signature move: The Holcy Dance. Named after its originator, driver Steven Holcomb of Park City, Utah, The Holcy (pronounced HOLE-KEE) is barely even a dance. It’s a few subtle foot-raises and arm motions that look like Holcomb is either running in place, trying to stay warm, or just badly in need of a bathroom break. “Maybe that,” said Holcomb’s father, Steve, “is why he gets down the hill so fast.”

Holcomb’s Night Train is certainly fast — it set track records in each of its first two heats at Whistler Sliding Center, and barring a crash on Saturday, is poised to win the U.S.’ first Olympic gold in bobsled since 1948. If that happens, The Holcy might become a global craze; as of now, the compilation produced by the No. 3 man in the Night Train sled, Steve Mesler, only has 2,700 views on YouTube:

A Night Train button worn by Steve Mesler's mother, Lois. (Luke Winn/SI)

Mesler, who included clips of The Holcy being performed in six different countries (the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland), is the man behind the dance. He told SI’s David Epstein that, six or seven years ago, “I heard the Humpty Dance on the radio before a race, and I started singing it and turned [the lyrics] into The Holcy Dance — and Holcy started dancing.”

(Epstein, who wrote an excellent feature on the Night Train crew in November, told me that the dance now seems to be Holcomb’s Pavlovian response to hearing Mesler sing that altered version of the Digital Underground hit.)

Holcomb’s mother, Jean Anne Schaefer, hadn’t seen the dance until her son did it on NBC during the Olympics, but approves of its subtlety. “It’s so Steve,” she said. “He doesn’t like flashy. He’s just laid-back and easy.” Amy Tomasevicz, the mother of the team’s brakeman, Curt Tomasevicz, said she’d be willing to give Holcomb some pointers in the offseason. She won a Twist contest in the mid-’90s at the Shelby Hotel in their hometown of Shelby, Neb. (pop: 690). Of The Holcy, she said, “Stylistically, it stinks, but that’s not the point. It’s the inner beat.”

(One additional note on the culture of the Night Train: Not only does it have its own dance, it has its own whistle, too. Holcomb’s father gave Epstein one of the custom train whistles they had made for the Games, and photos of it are below:)

(Luke Winn/SI)

(Luke Winn/SI)

(Luke Winn/SI)

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Two of the official timers at Olympic skiing events on Whistler Mountain were enlisted to monitor an attempt at a world record on Friday, but not in an IOC-sanctioned event. This took place in a bar, and they were timing it on behalf of the Guinness Book. The sport, if one wants to call it that, was sabrage: A local restaurant owner was trying to open 28 bottles of Dom Perignon with a saber in one minute.

André Saint-Jacques, the owner of Bearfoot Bistro, has held the Guinness record for sabering since 2005, when he successfully opened 21 bottles of Dom. He has a sign making note of that feat in his wine cellar (where he let SI editor Terry McDonell try non-timed sabering a week ago). But on Valentine’s Day this year, a restaurant manager in Sandton, South Africa, one-upped Saint-Jacques, and the news came out on a South African wine Web site:

Valentine’s Day turned into a real blast at The Bull Run Restaurant when the world record attempt began at exactly 17h00. Exactly one minute later at 17h01 Andrew Duminy had successfully opened 27 bottles of Pongrácz with his formidable sabre, smashing the previous record of 21 bottles.

Saint-Jacques had no choice but to go for 28, and I had front-row FlipCam access for it on Friday afternoon. Did the Olympic timers — who are working Saturday’s Men’s Slalom final — witness a record? Watch the video:

SI.com has enlisted the help of the bloggers behind Canadian Design Resource to author a series of posts on the design spirit of their country’s three Olympic Games: Montreal 1976, Calgary 1988, and Vancouver 2010. Today, CDR’s Michael Erdmann and Todd Falkowsky take a look at Canada’s Olympic souvenirs:

Souvenirs represent a huge portion of Olympic business, and the right to manufacture and sell official Olympic swag is aggressively protected. The sheer volume of souvenirs at the Games is overwhelming (VANOC’s official 2010 web store lists over 400 official pins alone), but here’s a small taste of them through the years:

Montreal 1976: Souvenir Tray & Sport Glasses
COJO 76 Graphics and Design Directorate, Oranamin & Tasco

(Tray photo: Roan John Barrion – modernlovedesign.com / Camera photo: Alex Seth)

Montreal 1976: Souvenir Plate
COJO 76 Graphics and Design Directorate

(COJO 76)

Souvenirs from the Montreal Olympics are evidence of the Games in transition. There’s a deliberate tension between traditionalism and modernism; some of the designs emphasized the classical, athletic aspects of the Games, while others showed off the flair of the city’s new architecture and youth culture. Drawing on International Style typography (and owing an obvious debt to Otl Aicher’s designs for the 1972 Munich Games), the Montreal Games were permeated by a distinctive “Canadian modernism.”

This graphic style was applied to a huge range of objects from posters to luggage, and disposable lighters to high-end ceramics (from regal brands like Wedgwood and Royal Copenhagen). Montreal’s Graphics and Design Directorate oversaw and approved every application, ensuring that each piece inherited the same well considered qualities.

Calgary 1988: Skating Star Barbie
Mattel, OCO

(OCO)

Calgary marked the beginning of a few trends that would come to dominate Olympic design. In contrast to Montreal’s International Style, these games returned to a regional aesthetic, referencing local forms and Western themes. Applying now-familiar marketing tools, Calgary abandoned the exclusiveness of past Olympics and positioned the games as a mass-culture event. Popular brands like Mattel and Coca-Cola participated in the games like never before.

Calgary 1988/Vancouver 2010: Olympic Glassware
Petro-Canada, OCO/VANOC

Perhaps the best example of Calgary’s populist approach is the Petro-Canada glassware campaign. In the lead-up to the 1988 Games, Petro-Canada, one of Canada’s largest oil companies (and a government-owned company at the time) launched an extensive campaign, selling a line of souvenir glassware in support of Canada’s Olympic athletes. The project was a massive sensation, selling more than 50 million glasses — almost double the Canadian population in 1988. Despite this success, the design itself was rather humble. Perhaps this contributed to the accessibility of the campaign, but in the decades that followed the Games, the glasses have become ubiquitous dust collectors. Petro-Canada had significantly lower expectations for the 2010 glass campaign, but this recent television commercial perfectly captures the phenomenon.

Vancouver 2010: Mascot Backpacks
HBC, VANOC, Meomi

(Michael Francis McCarthy - flickr.com/photos/sagamiono)

While the quality of design has improved, in many ways Vancouver’s souvenirs continue the populist tradition of the Calgary games. Rather than focusing on the Games themselves with representations of athletic endeavors, the emphasis today is on desirability and capturing the spirit of the event. In addition to the now-familiar blue-and-green color scheme and those adorable mascots, we find strategic dashes of Canadiana. Well-known Canadian designs, including the toque (knitted cap), parka and knitted sweater (unfortunately not a real Cowichan sweater), and even products like maple syrup are all given the Olympic treatment — an aesthetic that’s distinctive, yet familiar and accessible to global audiences.

Vancouver 2010: Maple Syrup
HBC, VANOC, Meomi

(Michael Francis McCarthy - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sagamiono)

Vancouver 2010: Torchbearer’s Mittens
Vivienne Lu and Tu Ly, HBC/VANOC

(HBC/VANOC)

Originally created for the official torchbearer’s uniform, the Hudson’s Bay Company’s red mittens have become the much-talked-about hit of the Games. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why the design has struck such a chord, though the strategically placed maple leaf — hidden inside the palm and only revealed with a wave or a victorious cheer — seems to strike the right humble/patriotic balance with Canadian audiences. Too bad the patriotism didn’t carry through their production; like most contemporary souvenirs, the mittens are manufactured in China.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — If asked which athlete you’d most like to party with at the Olympics, whom would you pick? Before Thursday I might have said the 2006 version of Bode Miller, who raged against the hype machine in Turin. Or U.S. snowboarder Scotty Lago, who clearly knew how to capitalize on bronze-medal notoriety in the streets of Vancouver. But now, an hour after the women’s hockey gold medal game, I’d say the entire Team Canada — because I’m sitting in press row at Canada Hockey Place, watching these women pound Molsons and smoke cigars on the ice.

A few of the victorious Canadians trickled back out of the locker room after all the fans had cleared the building, and only ushers and a handful of media members remained. A press conference was going on elsewhere in the building. The Olympic champs were still wearing their gold medals — but they were also holding beers, champagne bottles and stogies, and taking tons of pictures. I cut off my live blog of the game at the medal ceremony, and started a new post on the Molson Party, which is the most authentically cool celebration I’ve seen at these Games.

Forward Haley Irwin was kind enough to share one of her beers with a friend behind the penalty box:

(Luke Winn/SI)

Irwin (left) and tournament MVP Meghan Agosta laid on the ice and did bicycles while sharing puffs on a victory cigar:

(Luke Winn/SI)

First-line forward Caroline Ouellette (13) took swigs off of a giant Molson:

(Luke Winn/SI)

And Rebecca Johnston (No. 6) feigned a Zamboni cruise, which would have been cooler had her teammates let her take the giant Molson into the driver’s seat:

(Luke Winn/SI)

Finally, Irwin and Agosta worked on a champagne-and-beer combo (if this had been the U.S. team, High Life could have sufficed):

(Luke Winn/SI)

I won’t be shocked if I see them driving that Zamboni down Robson Street at 3 a.m. When you win a hockey gold medal for Canada on home soil, I think you’re pretty much given carte blanche.

(Late-night update: In the latest moronic piece of news to come out of the IOC, executive director Gilbert Felli says they will investigate the celebration. “It is not what we want to see,” he told the Associated Press. “I don’t think it’s a good promotion of sport values. If they celebrate in the changing room, that’s one thing, but not in public. We will investigate what happened.”

A word for the IOC, and reporters casting this as a negative incident: Please, just let Team Canada have their fun. What they did was refreshingly authentic. Don’t punish them for it.)