VANCOUVER, British Columbia — In the ramp up to these Vancouver Olympics that culminated Sunday after 17 remarkable days, the U.S. Olympic Committee declined to reveal medals projections.
Looking back, maybe it just didn't want to tip its hand to our northern neighbors, eh?
But there's no doubting Team USA over-delivered. From the Richmond Olympic Oval to Cypress Mountain to Whistler Creekside, the Americans won 37 medals, the most ever by a single nation at a Winter Games. The U.S. won the winter overall medal count for the first time since 1932 — outdistancing Germany's 30 medals and Canada's 26.
"The team performed fantastically," said USOC chief Scott Blackmun. "We expected them to, and they did even better than we thought."
While American success was immediate and memorable — from Alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn's screamin'-fast, golden downhill run to speedskater Apolo Ohno upping his medal tally to a U.S.-record eight overall — the host Canadians needed an epic comeback. They delivered.
With the overall medal count conceded and its mojo-maligning Own the Podium program dissected after the first week, Canadians started piling up medals. Mostly gold.
Canada won 14 golds in all, five more than the U.S.'s nine and the most ever by a nation at a Winter Olympics. Canada set the record Sunday by winning the gold medal hockey game over the U.S., 3-2, in sudden death overtime.
Even before the hockey euphoria, national pride had broken out, from waving the now-iconic red mittens to the impulsive singing of "Oh Canada."
The Vancouver Organizing Committee recovered too, after the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in training hours before the opening ceremony Feb. 12. The death changed the initial tone — and perhaps the long-lasting legacy — of these Games. But they continued.
Warm, wet weather beset the "Spring Olympics," but conditions improved and this glorious Sea-to-Sky region set a golden playing stage.
Americans are new at this winter juggernaut thing. The last time Canada hosted the Winter Games, 1988 in Calgary, the U.S. won just six medals. At Nagano in 1998, the U.S. won 13.
When the 2002 Salt Lake Games approached, the U.S. changed tactics. The USOC customized its funding for individual sports and promoted a long-term approach to developing potential medalists.
Winter funding has continued to increase — with the USOC providing $55 million over the last four years. The Games themselves have evolved, adding sports and disciplines. Still, the U.S. won many of its medals in traditional sports here.
While winter power Germany remains strong, formerly dominant Russia flopped in advance of hosting the 2014 Sochi Games.
"Expectations have changed," said Bill Demong, a four-time Olympian who won the U.S.'s first gold in Nordic combined and carried the U.S. flag in Sunday's closing ceremony. "In Nagano, we felt like we were a small country. . . we felt like outsiders. Now, we're here to win."
Along with making inroads in sports such as Demong's, the U.S. enjoyed unprecedented success in Alpine skiing, with eight medals.
The USOC hopes American success and NBC's improved TV ratings lead to direct commercial benefits from corporate sponsors. The record medal haul comes after a chaotic sequence for the USOC, ranging from leadership restructuring to the IOC's clear dismissal of the Chicago 2016 bid.
But after this medal-hording binge so close to home, the U.S. unquestionably leaves here a winner, many times over.
"To see the success that we've had is really inspiring," Vonn said. "It's been so cool to watch the American flag go up on the podium so many times.. . . All the stories that go behind, all the success and hard work that everyone has put in is really paying off."