# A Canadian flames the whole Canadian Olympic Mess! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 14, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922 "2010-02-14T03:35:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/161 "2010-02-15T20:52:42Z")
That was a very beautiful moment. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/162 "2010-02-15T20:56:50Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > So, what does the medals table look like for team sinking? Well, one silver medal for rescuing a sinking team – and deservedly so, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/163 "2010-02-15T22:32:26Z")
Okay, so who’s going to be in charge of linking to this thread the next time Valteron starts up another ridiculous, fly-off-the-handle pit thread as a warning sign for anyone who thinks about feeding him? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/164 "2010-02-15T23:18:56Z")
That Mike Robertson -what a loser, Canadian eh? Only a silver medal in Snowboard Cross. Will **Valteron** shut his cakehole now? Or does he only “count” gold medals? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/165 "2010-02-16T03:17:04Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Will **Valteron** shut his cakehole now? Or does he only “count” gold medals? I think for him only Gold matters. Silver is just the first Loser. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/166 "2010-02-16T03:37:26Z")
I just watched the gold medal ceremony - think I got something in my eye. ::sniff:: ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/167 "2010-02-16T04:49:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I just watched the gold medal ceremony - think I got something in my eye. ::sniff:: I don’t think I’ve ever heard a louder crowd. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/168 "2010-02-16T16:50:26Z")
What, a “…Canadian Olympic Mess” thread and no mention so far of [the ongoing technical difficulties at the Richmond Oval](http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/olympics/story/1482207.html)? (Yesterday all three Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines wouldn’t start for an hour, forcing a delay in the middle of the 500 m., and officials had started to fix the oval surface by hand when they finally got one of the machines working.) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/169 "2010-02-16T17:22:11Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > Some people use “nordic” to mean “northerly” in a general sense, Some use it to mean “mainly Scandinavian”. Then again it might include Latvian or Estonian. If you prefer, say Canada is a “northerly” country. In eitherr case this is beside the point of this thread. > [@flodnak](#): > > Oh, and incidentally:[The official website of the Nordic Council.](http://www.norden.org/en) Is your country involved in these projects? No? Then sorry, you weren’t invited to the party. To rub in what **flodnak** implied. I know that you anglophones (a friend of mine once stated that as the English language is more related to the language of the Saxons than that of the Angles the correct term should be saxophones) are a bit confused in this respect: The Scandinavian countries are Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Nordic countries are the Scandinavians plus Finland and Iceland. > [@manx](#): > > My girlfriend is Norwegian, and has told me that the Norwegian media throw tantrums when Norway doesn’t top medal table at the Winter Olympics. The idea seems to be that since they’ve normally win, they should ALWAYS win. Especially if they are beaten by Sweden. Let me just remind you of yesterday’s results. Women free style 10 km. Sweden: Gold and fifth (five seconds from bronze). Men 15 km free style: Sweden 4 or 5 (I don’t remember), Norway 28, 33, 41, 43. 😉 BTW I heard something on the radio today about someone who predicted, based on a statistical approach (it could be summarised as the richer the colder the better), that Sweden will take 24 medals, four of which will be gold, and Canada 27. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/170 "2010-02-16T19:18:09Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > What, a “…Canadian Olympic Mess” thread and no mention so far of [the ongoing technical difficulties at the Richmond Oval](http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/olympics/story/1482207.html)? > > (Yesterday all three Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines wouldn’t start for an hour, forcing a delay in the middle of the 500 m., and officials had started to fix the oval surface by hand when they finally got one of the machines working.) I don’t understand that at all; it’s the frickin’ Olympics - maybe get the Zambonis tuned up? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/171 "2010-02-16T20:31:12Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t understand that at all; it’s the frickin’ Olympics - maybe get the Zambonis tuned up? They weren’t Zambonis. They were special “Green” ice surfacing machines, allegedly environmentally friendly because they run on electricity. I guess nobody thought to test the damned things. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/172 "2010-02-16T20:36:47Z")
They are airlifting a zamboni from Calgary today. I probably shouldn’t find that so funny. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/173 "2010-02-16T21:05:57Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They weren’t Zambonis. They were special “Green” ice surfacing machines, allegedly environmentally friendly because they run on electricity. I guess nobody thought to test the damned things. Heh - I had thoughts about how things were going hinky in Vancouver because they’re so crazy for whatever the latest fashion in “green” things is there, but I dismissed it as unkind. **the Lady** , you’re not the only one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/174 "2010-02-16T21:25:00Z")
> [@the\_Lady](#): > > They are airlifting a zamboni from Calgary today. I probably shouldn’t find that so funny. I thought most Canadians had a Zamboni in the back of their shed, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/175 "2010-02-16T21:29:46Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I thought most Canadians had a Zamboni in the back of their shed, just in case. we do but we charge exorbitant fees to use our personal Zambonis. Vancouver would go bankrupt hosting the Olympics if they wanted to use the average joe’s Zamboni. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/176 "2010-02-16T21:32:34Z")
I really only let my close personal friends touch my Zamboni. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/177 "2010-02-16T22:39:39Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I thought most Canadians had a Zamboni in the back of their shed, just in case. Only the richer ones. The poorer ones use garden hoses from the back of their dogsleds. And if they’re too poor to have a dogsled, they use their boots and the results aren’t pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/178 "2010-02-16T22:47:04Z")
The issue of course is that the zambonis used on speed skating ovals aren’t the same as those used in standard hockey rinks. There’s lots of regular zambonis a lot closer than Calgary. And just for the record, the issue isn’t the zambonis running, but that they’re belching hot water onto the ice. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/179 "2010-02-16T23:20:00Z")
Just a glitch, this too shall pass. It was the result of trying to go all green, murphy’s law and all that. No biggie. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922/180 "2010-02-16T23:24:12Z")
Can I just point out now that Maelle Ricker has won another gold for Canada? And that **Valteron** is looking increasingly like a doddering old duffer who cannot remember the past 18 years properly? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-canadian-flames-the-whole-canadian-olympic-mess/528922.md?page=10)