Thank You, Vancouver (and NBC)

A two-week televisual vacation in Vancouver came to an end yesterday with the final two competitions of the XXI Olympic Winter Games—a grueling 50km cross-country skiing race and the host country’s glorious and oh-so-important overtime defeat of the United States to take the gold in men’s ice hockey—and the Closing Ceremony capping things off at BC Place, the indoor stadium that housed the magnificent kickoff festivities sixteen days prior.

If the Games’ launch was an austere tribute to Canada’s history, their close was more a celebration of its ability to laugh at itself, beginning with a mime-aided callback to the mechanical problems that kept the cauldron from being lit as intended in the Opening Ceremony. (Speed skater Catriona Lemay Doan finally got to put her flame to use.) There were giant Mountie statues on display, floating moose, inflatable beavers, and appearances by William Shatner, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael J. Fox. Yes, the Vancouver Games went out with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Not to be forgotten, though, were the emotional highs and lows these Olympics produced. Injury-plagued Lindsey Vonn’s scream of pure relief after she won gold in the downhill. Apolo Anton Ohno’s winning three more medals to become the most decorated American Winter Olympian ever, doing it in a sport (short track speed skating) that is defined by its unpredictability. Figure skater Joannie Rochette’s strength and courage, taking to the ice just two days after her mother’s death and somehow delivering a bronze medal-winning performance as the world shared in her grief. Moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau finally getting the monkey off Canada’s back, winning the first of what would become a Winter record fourteen gold medals on home soil, something the country was unable to do in two previous tries (Montreal in ’76, Calgary in ’88). Of course, I’m barely scratching the surface here; so many wonderful, unforgettable stories emerged from these Games.

NBC once again did an admirable, if predictably jingoistic, job covering this massive event. Bob Costas remains the consummate host and is arguably the best interviewer in the business today, able to cut through the bull when necessary but also be playful with guests when appropriate (his interview with the enormously personable Vonn on Saturday was a hoot). Some cost-cutting measures were evident: The network relied on the world feed for certain events, such as ski jumping and cross-country, leaving many of the decisions about what we were shown out of the NBC director’s hands. At least all the talent was on site this time, unlike in Beijing, where some events were called by announcers watching monitors back in Saturday Night Live's empty New York studio.

The network’s contract to broadcast the Olympics ends with the London Games in 2012. Bids are forthcoming for future broadcast rights, and ESPN is believed to be eager to put in a hefty offer. But I hope NBC is able to keep the Olympics. Soft returns from Torino in 2006 have since been supplanted by much larger audiences in Beijing and Vancouver. NBC even became the first net to beat American Idol a couple weeks back, thanks to a night that featured a quartet of American Olympic idols, including snowboarder Shaun White’s gold medal halfpipe run.

If nothing else, the Olympics add an automatic air of prestige to a network that has shown itself largely incapable of creating shows that might have the same effect. For a little more than a fortnight every two years, NBC is guaranteed to make the kinds of headlines it wants, ones that don’t end with a punchline.