Sochi Olympics off, to a record-setting start

So, how are your Olympics going so far? Has the Canadian Olympic Committee advertising convinced you that we are, indeed, Winter? On the whole, when it's minus 30, I'd rather be spring.

Ashley Wagner sees her score at the women's team
figure skating event at the Sochi Olympics.

I am sort of partial to the Canadian Tire Official Olympic Children's Choir singing We All Play for Canada. But the more I hear it, the more it begins to sound like the Pink Floyd song Another Brick in the Wall, or the Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Now that the thought has been planted in your head, I defy you not to think about it, every time the ad is played on TV. Which will be often.

Just as the cost of running the Winter Games ($50 billion and rising), goes up each time around, the carping when the product falls short of the ideal also increases.

I'm not too fussed about Russia televising a section of its opening ceremonies that was actually a dress rehearsal, for the locals. That ground had already been broken in China. During the show, when one of the magic rings failed to grow on cue, the world saw only four rings of power, but Russian viewers — who are paying a lot more than us for the experience — got to see all five.

I recall when one of the pillars hoisting the Olympic cauldron failed to rise at the Vancouver Games opening ceremony. That left poor Catriona Le May Doan standing with a torch and no place to go. But we didn't fake it. So there you are.

Nor am I too upset that the journalists at the games have crappy hotel rooms. This is Russia: doesn't everybody get crappy hotel rooms? Trapping athletes in the bathroom might be another story altogether, though.

This is early days for these Games, so when the cameras pan back to show an astounding lack of spectators at most of the venues, you can just assume the world is unfolding as it should. Things will pick up.

The official line is that 92 per cent of all the tickets have been sold. That must mean 80 per cent of ticket buyers are trapped in a Soviet-era lineup (or a bathroom) somewhere.

Besides, team figure skating — the early marquee event — is more of a TV thing, anyway.

A genuine Olympic Moment actually occurred at the women's team figure skating event.

The world saw American skater Ashley Wagner register all the stages of grief when she saw her score following her routine. The four-second video of that has eclipsed the opening ceremonies.

Japanese skater Mao Asada had the high score to that point, but had fallen during her routine. Wagner had skated well, and clean, but was given a lower score, relegating her team to a bronze standing.

A video clip that became the first viral sensation of the games shows Wagner registering shock, disbelief and then anger as she turned her head to tell the “kiss and cry” zone that “this is bullshit.” Then, she smiles and claps politely.

Later she tweeted: ““I AM AN OLYMPIC MEDALIST!!! THANK YOU TO MY INCREDIBLE TEAM!” Acceptance.

The Sochi Games also set a record for the rise of allegations of corruption and collusion in judging at figure skating events. Only one day in! And, again, Canadians are the target.

French magazine L'Equipe published an interview with an unnamed Russian coach, alleging that Russian and American judges had struck a “proposed barter” to help each other keep Canadian figure skaters off the top podium.

Shades of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier at Salt Lake City!

Russia would get to win the pairs and team events, the Americans would defeat Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in the dance event.

But, as they say in Russia, believe nothing until it is officially denied.

Canada has an early gold medal for Twitter at these games, and the person who created the feed isn't even in Russia.

A journalism student at Toronto's Centennial College, Alexander Broad, created @Socchi Problems as a local joke, hoping he'd get maybe 30 followers.

As of Sunday, he had more than 331,000. That's more than Canada's Olympic Team Twitter feed. That's more than the official Twitter feed for the Socchi Games Committee.

They're always creating new events at the Olympics. Twitter satires, and You Tube videos of incredulous athletes may just get included.

And the Games have only started. I just hope they have good ice at the curling venue. A distinct lack of fans in the stands should help prevent problems with that.