Our 16th Gold, more than any other country, phft.
One of the most fun filming experiences ever. The streets were… it’s tough to describe that much genuine happiness.
Here’s to us doing it again tomorrow!
#GoCanadaGo
That Time I Covered the 2010 Olympic Games
It was four years ago Sun Media shipped me out to cover the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Back when I was ‘The Canadian Explorer‘. That all felt odd to type.
I was hired to produce a video / day on weekdays, and a daily 100-word column.
The column was called, “Social Keri”. I had not input there.
That backpack, my mobile studio – 22 pounds. Now it’s half that.
I could do an entire video, “What’s really happening behind all these videos and columns”.
I got the job because I sold the “a video a day” angle, except I’d never done that before. So I sent myself into training, practicing writing “100 Words Today“, and producing a daily video series called, “Live at 5“.
Or that newspaper headshot, I hadn’t slept for 62 hours there. Of course my camera broke the day before I left.
Until that video, here’s a mega post about my 3 weeks at the Games.
I even managed to secure a sponsorship, and by Canada Goose at that.
My camera is on a garbage can, ha.
Celebrating the Olympics through Dance
One of my favourite Olympic episodes – dancing with Spandy Andy.
Spandy Andy is a local Vancouver celebrity, from his bio:
I travel the world dancing in SPANDEX. Learn more about my TIGHT BRIGHT philosophy by visiting SpandyAndy.com
I’d dragged a guy out of the newsroom to film us. But after security kicked us out, he got scared and abandoned the shoot.
So I did this.
Didn’t think twice, it was that kind of atmosphere, genuinely happy.
Filmed in the epicentre of the Games.
Spandy Andy has gone on to do quite well for himself.
He was on Think You Can Dance’, a regular performer at MarineWorld, and his Youtube has 10.3 million views, nice Andy. Here’s his Twitter.
15 Videos about the 2010 Olympics
The paper permitted me to film and cover whatever I wished, so I explored around and interviewed people with my screwdriver microphone.
Miss that thing.
These are all screenshots.
Because this is the bad thing: I never uploaded any of them to my YouTube account.
It floors me, but they’re all still live on Sun Media’s servers.
Watch this, then at the end it’ll display a ‘Related Videos’ at the bottom, find them all there.
Until tonight, I hadn’t watched of these since I made them.
Even made it up to Whistler.
On the Alberta Train.
Where I ran into Maelle Ricker, and held a Gold medal. My editor loved this one.
Here’s another time I held a Gold medal, includes a better photo of it.
Roamed the streets every night.
That 3 weeks really was one of those once-in-a-lifetime, time-of-my-life experiences.
My 2010 Olympic Newspaper Column ‘Social Keri’
It was a 100-word daily column about my impressions about the Games, printed in ‘Vancouver 24 hrs’. It was called ‘Social Keri’, and I had no input on that.
This was my final article.
I love how this was known around the wolrd as “The Party Olympics”.
Simultaneously, we set the record for the most gold medals ever won at a Winter Olympics. Sums us up pretty well, eh?
This was our coming out party, Canada!
It’s important to keep this patriotic momentum going; we’ve been humble for long enough about being the best country in the wold.
You know those times when you got goosebumps during the Games, or when your eyes welled up? When you were holding your breath and forgetting to blink while you willed us to victory?
That feeling, that’s the one that needs to be celebrated and screamed a little louder.
I don’t want to leave here. I want to live in this bubble forever.
Thank you Vancouver, for showing me the time of my life.
See you soon.
I’m so coming back.xoxo
Keri
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kk woah – just went to link up all articles from ‘Canadian Explorer’, and they’re missing? Oh boy. The hard copies are long gone.
They must be around there somewhere, but likely went missing when I ported over to WordPress from SquareSpace. Gah.
