First Day of Olympic Competition - Update by Carrie

While the wins didn’t come today, the first day of competition was very exciting! We were ready to cheer our team on in their first two games of the Olympics.

The morning began early…suggested arrival to venue was two hours before the game which meant 7:00 am. We fudged a little and got there at 7:30. It was good to get there early as by 8:00 it was taking 45 minutes to get through the security check points and into the venue. If you got there after 8:00 you missed the first few ends. We actually enjoyed getting there early and meeting up with more family and friends. Highlight among the family was Patrick Plys (Chris’ Dad) with his face and head painted Red, White, and Blue! The rest of us sported face stickers, U.S.A. flags and plenty of patriotic bling!

Our first game was against Germany. Andy Kapp and crew have been around International competition for a while. We’ve heard they are favored for a bronze in this competition. Andy had an awesome game at skip and took advantage of every opportunity by making some great shots. It’s always fun to watch good shot making in curling, even if it isn’t by your own team.

After the game we made our way down to the Proctor and Gamble USA Home where we enjoyed another nice lunch and met up with the rest of our curling family and friends. We hung out in the internet café and connected with the folks back home via facebook and email. Again, what an awesome facility that Proctor and Gamble sponsors for us. So nice to have somewhere to relax between games.

We headed out early to the 7:00 p.m. draw against Norway as we heard that there was to be an official opening ceremony of sorts at the curling venue. We were able to see most of the ceremony which included both the men’s and women’s teams from all of the countries competing here in Vancouver.

The game against Norway was well-played by both teams. A very fun game to watch. While we would have liked to come away with the win, it was nice to see our guys play well and have fun with the game they all enjoy so much. The arena was incredible with chants going through the crowd for all teams at various points throughout the night. And people say curling isn’t exciting! Wish everyone could have seen the games we saw tonight and felt the excitement in the arena. Amazing!

Go U.S.A.!