The pictures only tell part of the story. There's so much that happened, I can't even begin to talk about all of it. I'll try my best to summarize everyday into the biggest highlights, though.
July 17
My trip actually started last Friday, when I didn't go to any Pan Am events, but I did see some of the sailing competition (I think). I flew into the Billy Bishop City Airport, which is on an island in Lake Ontario. They ferried us over to the mainland, after which I saw some boats going by with national flags on them. I'm not sure if there was actually a race going on or if they were just practicing, but those boats were clearly the same ones being used for the sailing events. That night I went to the Blue Jays-Rays game. It had been raining for most of the day, and the roof was actually closed when I got there. And I was thinking, "it's really dark in here." They opened it for game time, and Josh Donaldson hit a home run into the Rays bullpen right in front of where I was sitting. That was the first of two Toronto homers in a 6-2 Blue Jays win. The Pan Am flame is right outside SkyDome, so I got the chance to check that out after the game. I didn't even notice until I saw it up close, but the Pan Am flame actually includes the pictograms for each of the different Pan Am and Parapan Am sports. Very cool.
July 18-Archery, Swimming
As for my first day of Pan Am Games events, it started at the University of Toronto for archery. I ended up sitting behind the family of American Brady Ellison, who they told me is actually ranked second in the world. It was the individual semifinals and finals for both men and women, and it was actually pretty exciting. American Khatuna Lorig needed a 10 on her last arrow of the semifinals in order to force a tie. She got it, then won the tiebreaker to advance to the final, which she also ended up winning. Ellison, meanwhile, lost the men's final. Canadian Jay Lyon won the bronze, which obviously pumped up the crowd.
Then it was off to the pool for the final night of the swimming competition. I met my new Brazilian friends, Raisa and Ze, on the bus on the way to the venue, and they were the inspiration for my little project to try and get a picture with somebody from every country. The competition itself was awesome. The U.S. didn't send most of its top swimmers, but I did get to see Natalie Coughlin and Allison Schmitt in the medley relay, as well as Caitlin Leverenz in the IM. I ended up seeing three American wins in six gold-medal events, but the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for Canadian Ryan Cochrane. They went nuts before he raced, then even more so when he delivered in the 1500 meter freestyle, setting a Pan Am Games record.
July 19-Hockey Hall of Fame, Baseball Gold Medal Game
Day two in Toronto on featured one event. On purpose. The whole plan for Sunday was to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the afternoon before heading out to the baseball gold medal game. It was the second time I've been to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but it had been like 10 years since my last trip. Just as awesome as I remembered it. They have a lot of interactive stuff, and video now exists of my outstanding hockey skills (although I did make one save in the goalie game, and I wasn't credited with like three goals in the shooting one). The way I went in was the complete opposite direction of the Great Hall, so I saved the Holy Grail for last. The Blackhawks still have the actual Stanley Cup, so the replica was on display, but that made absolutely no difference. All of the trophies and the Hall of Fame plaques were in that room, too. If you ever go to Toronto, I highly recommend a stop at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
After the Hall of Fame, I headed out to Ajax for one of the events I was anticipating the most--the baseball gold medal game. It was made even cooler when it ended up being Canada vs, the US. Obviously, the game was sold out. Seating was general admission, so, because of some travel troubles on the way there, I ended up with an obstructed view seat. No problem, though. At least I was in there. Even though 95 percent of the crowd was rooting for the other team.
And it was a pretty good game. Tied 4-4 into the 10th, when they utilized the ridiculous international tiebreaker rule. Runners on first and second to start the inning, and, here's the stupid part, you can start anywhere in the lineup you want. The U.S., inevitably, scored two in the top of the 10th, and Canada screwed up its bunt for the first out in the bottom of the 10th. The next batter singled to make it 6-5. That's when former Yankee David Huff comes in and U.S. manager Jim Tracy decided it would be a good idea to try and pick off the runner at first. It wasn't. Huff threw it away, allowing the tying run to score. First baseman Casey Kotchmann, another former Major Leaguer, panicked, tried to get the other guy going to third and threw that away. Amazingly, the U.S. blew the game on a walk-off double error. I've never seen anything like that before.
Definitely the coolest part of the night happened on the train back, though. As I was waiting for the train, Jake Barrett, one of the American players, and his family came down to also wait. He shook my hand and thanked me for coming to the game, after which we began talking. It turns out all the guys had to fly out first thing the next morning to return to their Minor League teams. Jake was headed to Mobile, Ala., where he plays for the Bay Bears, the Diamondbacks' Double-A affiliate. Such a great guy. Very humble. We talked for pretty much the entire 45-minute train ride. He told me how the team was selected and asked me why I made the trip, etc. The coolest part? He didn't just let me see his silver medal. He let me try it on, and his mom even took a picture of me wearing it. It was obviously disappointing to lose that game, especially that way, and I'm sure the last thing he wanted to do was talk all about it. But he did. And he gained a fan in the process.
Coming up tomorrow will be a review of days 4-6 North of the Border, which included another USA-Canada gold medal tilt, the beach volleyball finals and a trip up to the top of the impressive CN Tower, the most distinctive piece of the Toronto skyline.
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