| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Downtown's the place to gather
By Peter Thunell and Jerry Johnston
Looking like three small mountains under layers of blankets, jackets and hats, Suzanne Butler's children watched the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Games at Washington Square.
"We've been looking forward to this as a family ever since we got the bid," Butler said. "We just wanted to be more of a part a part of it and come out tonight. You can't have the world sitting beside you in your living room, but you can here."
Butler's sentiments were echoed by the other 1,500 people sitting and standing in the cold, each saying they just couldn't stay home Friday night and watch the ceremonies by themselves on television.
"We wanted to feel the Olympic spirit here with everyone else," said Liz Galvez, who was decked out with a large flag of Brazil on her back. Galvez was surrounded by friends holding flags from Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.
"We're proud because most of these countries don't have snow so it's great that they're here," Galvez said.
At the Gallivan Center, most of the early crowd of 2,000 people mingled and skated during the beginning of the ceremonies until the American flag from ground zero was presented and the national anthem was sung.
At that point, skaters stopped where they were and a group of teenagers stopped watching a man blow glass and took off their ski caps and solemnly covered their hearts.
The crowd at Bud World continued to increase exponentially as the night wore on, due in no small part to reports that the popular band Smash Mouth was going to be playing there after the ceremonies were over.
Most people out around downtown Friday night said they were looking to be a part of the excitement but couldn't afford the steep prices for the tickets to the ceremonies.
"We couldn't afford the $885 per ticket, like most people," said Eileen Spaulding, who arrived at the downtown area with her husband and two sons. "This is the best way to still experience it for people who aren't there at the ceremonies."
Still, downtown wasn't as busy as expected.
By 7 p.m., what many feared would be a night of traffic frights seemed more like a ghost town.
"We had tons of people working earlier. We had to send them all home," said Trudy Hoeppner of the Steakery in the Crossroads Mall. "They say things will pick up around 9. We'll stay around until 9:30 and see."
If foot traffic was light, however, auto traffic was almost nonexistent, especially for a Friday night. Traffic lights pointlessly blinked red and green .
Even the State Street cruisers had taken a holiday.
Parking lot attendants warmed their hands and speculated about the light turnout. "I'm very surprised," said Karla Molina of Walker Center Parking. "It's very slow. The prices may have something to do with it."
Stephanie Rapach and Bobby Friese drove from Chicago to see the Olympics, making it their fourth Olympics in a row they have attended. Friese said that during each Olympics, the big screens around town are a great place to congregate.
"I'm not so much into the competition of the Games, I'm more into seeing humanity cooperate," Friese said. "You don't catch that by watching the Games on TV."
E-mail: pthunell@desnews.com; jerjohn@desnews.com
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February 9, 2002
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