Curling the Games

I'm not a fan of curling. But my mother is, so when she announced back in the summer that she'd purchased three tickets for Olympic Curling, one for each of her, me, and my sister (my father being a fan of curling, but not the Olympics), I didn't even consider saying no. I mean, for one thing, my mom had just done something nice for me, and for another, it's as much an opportunity to bond with family as it is about watching a sport. And what the heck, experiencing the Games while they are here is a good thing. Just to say I did.

I had heard terrible rumours of the difficulty of accessing venues -- tales of long security lines and difficult security, and my mother of course believed them all and planned to arrive a good two hours in advance of the starting time. I was a little more skeptical (and a lot less concerned about missing a few moments of the game) so got on the bus at a time that would give me a good hour to spare (even with my very slow waddle these days.) And I was very pleasantly surprised that not only did the security lines move quickly, but that my stash of food wasn't questioned (hard to find things to eat inside a sports venue when a.) pregnant b.) gluten intolerant and c.) glucose intolerant. Yeah.) but that I was offered the option to skip the xray machine and wand in favour of a polite and professional pat down by a security woman. I wasn't too concerned about the xray machine -- I flew when The Boy was in utero, and he doesn't seem damaged by the security screen -- but it was good to have the option to skip it regardless.

I don't know much about curling, either, but I figured (rightly so) that I would get caught up in the excitement of the game regardless, which I did. Canada played Sweden and won, which was great, of course, and I also appreciated that, while we did all cheer extremely loudly when the Canadians made a particularly good shot, there was a collective "awwwwww" when the Swedes missed a shot as well, even though it gave Canada an advantage. We're still nice people, us in the Curling crowd (I make no similar claims for the hockey crowds, however. They remain unpredictable!)

So all in all: pleasantly surprised by the entirety, even the after-event activities which allowed me to get on a shuttle to the nearest train station because I looked so pregnant and therefore qualified as someone who needed help in walking. Heh. (To be fair, it was a good thing ... I was tired of walking by that time, and was pleased to sit down on something more comfortable than the plastic arena seat.)

I still reserve the right to grumble about my increased taxes over the coming years, though.