Let's Go to the Olympics!

The Winter Sports Museum in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The ski jumps in the middle were built and used for the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. The building on the right is Sapporo's winter sports museum...a museum dedicated to winter sports, with an emphasis on the 1972 Olympics.

Well, I've been waiting for this day for a long time. The 2010 Vancouver Olympic organizing committee has announced ticket prices.

I've been wanting to go to the Vancouver Olympics since it was announced Vancouver was getting them. I've always suspected that the ticket prices would take up the majority of my budget for this trip, and it looks like it's confirmed.

As expected, the most expensive event is going to be the Opening Ceremonies. $1100 for front row seats. The cheap seats are "only" $175.

Let's go to our national pastime...hockey! For men's hockey, primo seats at the gold medal game will run $775...the cheap seats are $350. For women's hockey, front row seats at the gold medal game will cost $325, and the cheap seats are $125. Wow, whatever happened to equal pay for equal work?

Canada's other national pastime is curling. There's only one kind of seat available for the gold medal curling game, and it costs $125.

Tickets are a little more reasonable for the events that don't get much TV coverage. For example, here's something you don't know about me. I love to watch ski jumping. $210 for the good seats, $120 for cheap seats.

Tickets go on sale in exactly one year...October 11, 2008. Actually, they're going to sell tickets in three phases. Phase I goes on sale in one year.

So, yeah. I now have some idea of how much it's going to cost me. I know for darn sure that I won't be able to save up that much on a news hound's salary...looks like I'm maxing out the credit card! Which is good, because come 2009, I'll finally be able to declare bankruptcy to wipe out my student loan debt. I'll hold out until 2010 and wipe out the Olympic debt, too!

And, things still kind of hinge on my best friend still living in Vancouver come 2010. If I can't crash at his place, accomidations shoots up to my #2 expense.

I want to go so bad.

Here's the complete price list at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games website

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Oh, and in other news, Family Day continues to spread across the country!

With the Ontario Liberals having taking power once again in Ontario, Premier Dalton McGuinty has said that he's following through on one of his biggest election promises.

Ontario celebrates its first Family Day this coming February.