Blurb: For the past six weeks, I've been looking for ANYONE wearing China attire for the Olympics or Paralympics. On the very last day of the Games, I decided to take one more look around downtown.
With few people even wearing Canadian colours, it seemed unlikely to find a Chinese supporter. In fact, it wasn't until my trip back to my car that I spotted him from the corner of my eye. Standing in line for the Vancouver Art Gallery, I saw this man in his blue jacket, with the letters "C" and "A" on both ends. Thank God I didn't look away, because as I circled around, I noticed instead of "CANADA" - it read "CHINA". Holy crap.
Running to the front of the line, I caught him just seconds before he stepped into the gallery. I hastily explained my situation, but he only shook his head and turned to a companion, perplexed; he didn't understand English. The security started yelling at his group to move. I blurted out my cause again to his friend, who paused a moment before relaying my plea in Mandarin.
The man nodded and smiled. Posed forward and back, all while the security guards yelled on deaf ears - both his and mine. I needed this shot. I refused to move. Snap snap.
Done. Colours 2010 was complete. On the last day. And all I had to do was budge into a line, piss off security guards, and scare a tourist with my camera.
I can't tell you how grateful I am to this man. Colours 2010 has been a driving force behind my Games experience, and having all of the major countries represented, especially my own, meant the world to me.
Hell yes. HELL YES. I remember turning to leave and pumping my camera in the air. So awesome. I hadn't been this happy since we won gold in men's hockey.
Sir, if you ever see this, you made my day. I can't thank you enough.