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THANK YOUS!!!(AND NEVER FORGET)

It's 17 days later and our city has officially come out the other end of this whirlwind that was the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games! The Paralympic Games are on their way (opening March 12th) and as a sports fan, music fan, journalist, proud Can

It's 17 days later and our city has officially come out the other end of this whirlwind that was the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games! The Paralympic Games are on their way (opening March 12th) and as a sports fan, music fan, journalist, proud Canadian and Vancouverite, I personally need to thank a bunch of people for delivering the most memorable and awesome 17 days of my life:

1. Our athletes and the athletes from all of the other participating countries. I've spent the past 17 days closely following and cheering for sports that I didn't even know I liked. And the sports that I already knew I liked, I crapped in my pants watching our amazing athletes place well in them. I'm a grown man, 33 years old, but watching these Games made me want to go out and train for something, I can only imagine what they have done for the youth of this nation who might actually have a future in sport.

2. The residents of this city who served as gracious hosts to "the world" who actually showed up on our doorstep as promised. Amongst those residents are the peaceful protesters who delivered their message without violence, and with respect to the people doing the opposite of protesting.

3. Mayor Gregor and the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the IOC and VANOC and any giant organizing body I might have forgot. Epic showings of such scale can never happen without them. I'd also like to thank all of the corporate sponsors of the games, who this really would not be able to happen without.

4. All of the artists who performed at pavilions and venues and who participated in the Cultural Olympiad, and the folks running the festival, specifically Jen Fritz who helped V.I.A. get into a bunch of venues to see/photograph/review the best celebration of live music this city - and this province - has ever seen. Also thanks to the visual artists who took part in V.I.A.'s An Awesome Showcase hosted by Shine Nightclub, curated by Randy Laybourne and managed daily by Christine Mcavoy. Also, all of the photographers who stocked our Flick pool with a steady supply of stunning imagery, often making it difficult to choose a daily favourite.

5. The media: CTV for providing fantastic coverage of these games, both online and on television. SHAW TV's The Express for doing a segment on V.I.A. right as the Games begun. CBC Radio 3, The Peak and Newstalk 1010 Toronto for allowing me to talk on the radio about this awesome city of ours. @Miss604 and everybody else on Twitter who kept us up to speed minute-to-minute.

6. Tourism BC for making sure I got to experience at least one Olympic hockey game in my lifetime. Coincidentally it was a game that Wayne Gretzky called "the most electrifying game ever".

7. BC Hydro's PowerSmart Village for supplying us with two men's semifinals hockey tickets to give away to a lucky reader, TravelSmart 2010 who allowed us to give away a free 3-zone transit pass to a lucky reader, The Canadian Tourism Commission who allowed us to give away CDs to a lucky reader, Oakley for supplying us with a prize pack for a lucky reader and Raincoast Books for supplying us with some Vancouver themed books... to give away to a lucky reader.

8. Nike Canada, whose partnerships with our organization allowed me to get out of the office and into the "sea of red" to interview members of the Team Canada women's hockey team and others, to promote some initiatives at Mt Seymour and to help promote an awesome project that will result in a playing field somewhere in Vancouver being resurfaced out of recycled athletic shoes.

9. You, the V.I.A. reader, who justified my spending time covering the Games. Your continued to support for our web site and our organization is appreciated more than you will ever know.

And now that all is said and done and we go back to our somewhat regular lives here in Vancouver, I'd like to make you all take note of one thing. It's a Post Olympic Hangover remedy/mantra that I've had in my pocket for the past two years since I founded this organization dedicated to showcasing all of the things that make this city a great place to be:

Enjoy your city. Explore it. Know that the world came here because of the sheer and utter awesomeness of the place and that now that the world is gone you still get to enjoy everything it has to offer, every single day, for as long as you choose. You are truly fortunate to live in such a wonderful city and in the coming years Vancouver Is Awesome Inc will continue to remind you of all of the reasons why.