A delighted Crowd - Alexandre Bilodeau at Robson Square.

Story and photos by Toby Snelgrove

It was an afternoon to hang with my daughter, Andie, who was fresh from the Men's Mogul competition on Sunday. She beamed with delight as she described to me what happened at Cypress Mountain yesterday. It truly was a patriotic high experienced by her and her fellow Canadians. They had jsut witnessed Canada winning its first gold medal of the games and on home turf - even watching it on television choked me up.

I have to admit, I was envious. It is one thing to be out of town when something like this happens, but to be just a bus ride away and knowing that the event ticket would have cost less than $200, hurts. I didn't let my envy effect my joy for her. It was the first day of outstanding weather and it was our first gold medal. Truly, "she" struck gold. However, it was not to be the end of her good luck.

A happy man

As we meandered about Robson Street, I explained the different venues and described some of the spontaneous (unannounced) happenings. For some reason I decided to turn south at the ice rink and head towards a stage where I had enjoyed a concert two nights ago. As we made our way back she noticed the crowd taking an interest in one of the small stages to the right. There was excitement in the air. The camera slowly panned from the "green room" waiting area towards the stage. The huge display screen revealed nothing. As I was about to direct her down to the ice rink, an announcer appeared and said, "We have a special guest for you today". I grabbed my camera in anticipation. A  young man appeared on stage. The crowd erupted in spontaneous cheers and applause. It was not other than Alexandre Bilodeau, my daughter's new hero.

I was a sweet moment. My daughter and I, who I see infrequently (she's from California), together experiencing Alexandre Bilodeau's first non-broadcasted meeting with the public - and we were there.

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