Do you remember? A few questions.

Do you remember Vancouver 2010?

Do you remember how it started with the death of Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili? Or the fourth leg of the Olympic flame not rising into position? Or the big fence around the outdoor flame? Or the protestors? Or the lack of snow? Or the British media (especially) saying how bad these games were going to be?

But do you remember how it actually started? Do you remember where you were on July 2 2003 when Vancouver got awarded the games? Do you remember Vancouver Mayor, Sam Sullivan, receiving the Olympic flag at Turin in February 2006? Do you remember hoping that the actual Olympic ceremonies would be better than the low budget and low excitement presentation that Vancouver gave the world at the closing ceremonies in Turin?

Do you remember the Torch Relay starting its 45,000 kilometre journey on October 30 2009? Do you remember the crowds in Victoria who watched it start? The excitement on the kids' faces? Do you remember standing on the side of the road waiting for it to pass? Were you waving a huge Canada flag attached to a hockey stick? Do you remember the community parties that were held twice daily wherever the torch went for 106 days?

Do you remember how it officially started with the snowboarder showing the amazing beauty of BC and then landing in BC Place to start the opening ceremonies? Or Shane Koyczan giving his monolog, We Are More? What about the Orcas swimming across the floor of BC Place as they spouted water? Or the guy slamming the stick against the floor and the ever increasing ripples coming out from it? What about the rocking fiddles giving the East coast flavour? Or flying across the prairies? Or the crowd cheering for all the athletes? The special welcome and support to the Georgian team? The explosion when Canada entered? Do you remember what you felt when you saw Terry Fox's mother? Did you have tears in your eyes and think how great an example of what it means to be Canadian Terry Fox was? Did you think "wow, they put on a great show" when the opening ceremonies ended with Gretzky lighting the Olympic cauldron?

After the first few days without a much wanted gold medal did you wonder if Canada was just not meant to win one on home soil? Did you think that "Own the Podium" was a cruel joke? What did you think when Jenn Heil won our first medal, a silver in the women's moguls? Or when Kristina Groves got bronze in speed skating? Did you scream and shout when Alexandre Bilodeau put in a golden performance? What about local girl Maelle Ricker's gold in snowboard cross? Or when Christine Nesbitt scrapped back from a half second down in the last lap to win gold in 1,000 meter speed skating? Who can forget Jon Montgomery's victory parade through Whistler with the pitcher of beer? Did you watch Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold in ice dance with a moving performance? What about Ashleigh McIvor winning the gold in ski cross? Do you still smile when you see Clara Hughes' grin after winning bronze? What about the one-two finish in women's bobsled? Do we even need to mention the women's hockey gold medal game? Did you cry with Joannie Rochette when she won bronze just days after her mother's death? Did you breathe a sigh of relief for Charles Hamelin when he finally won gold in the 500m short track? Where you amazed at the dominating performance from the men's 5,000m relay team as they won gold? What about when the men's long track pursuit team won gold? Did you see Jasey-Jay Anderson holding his daughters while celebrating his gold medal in his last Olympic Games? Did you think that curling may not be an old-timers sport anymore after seeing the Canadian men's team take gold? Where were you when Sidney Crosby scored in overtime to win the most coveted gold in Winter Olympic sport?

Did you think that the sports were almost secondary to what the Olympics brought to Vancouver and also to Canada? Did you get into the Vancouver downtown areas to party with thousands of strangers? Did you see how great a job the volunteers did? What about the police? Could you fault how well the VPD and RCMP officers from all over the country handled themselves? Did you line up for hours for a chance to hold the medals at the Canadian Mint? What about the other various "houses" and "pavilions"? What was your favourite? Did the spontaneous outbreak of "Oh Canada" bring a tear to your eye? Did you wish your singing voice was a bit better so you could lead it off later? Do you regret not buying the red mittens or Canada hoodies when you had the chance? Did you never expect the Olympics to have such a positive effect on the population as a whole? Who knew that Canadians could show so much pride? Who knew that they could show so much pride in such a humble manner?

What do you have to add to these questions? Are you still so proud to be Canadian?

I am.