You know this is my dream picture, right? I mean, come on! Wayne Gretzky wearing a Vancouver shirt??? Is this really happening?
Wayne Gretzky and his family are in Prague to give Vancouver's 2010 bid their full support. (CP)
http://sportsnet.ca/skiing/story/10570846137774.shtml?sport=skiing&STORY_OID=10570846137774
Vancouver awaits its Olympic moment
If Vancouver is the name hidden in a sealed envelope lying somewhere in Prague, Canada will receive a belated birthday gift from the voting members of the IOC.
(posted Jul. 1, 2:32PM EDT)
PRAGUE -- Wayne Gretzky will have a loonie in his pocket when he tries to convince the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday why the 2010 Winter Games should come to Vancouver.
So will the other 99 members of the official Vancouver delegation that will be led into a congress hall at the Hilton Hotel by a pair of Mounties in red serge uniforms.
Gretzky wanted to bring the Lucky Loonie that was frozen in the ice surface during Canada's gold medal run at the Salt Lake City Olympics but it is enshrined at the Hockey Hall and Fame.
?The Hall of Fame wouldn't give me that one,? the Great One said with a laugh Tuesday.
The fate of Vancouver's efforts to be awarded the 2010 Games could be decided by the final 45-minute presentation. IOC members will then have 15 minutes to ask questions.
Vancouver will be the first city to make its pitch, followed by Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.
A few hours later the IOC will vote on which city will be awarded the Games.
Gretzky, the NHL's all-time point leader and architect of the team that won the first Olympic hockey gold by Canadian men in 50 years, will be part of the 11-member final presentation team.
He will be joined by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who is scheduled to arrive just hours before the presentation, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, and Olympic gold medallist speed skater Catriona Le May Doan, who will be the final Canadian to speak.
Gretzky joked that he is under strict orders to keep his speech to two minutes 43 seconds.
?I have eliminated the word 'eh' from my vocabulary so I'll get it all in,? he chuckled before turning serious.
?My thing I want to come across is how proud I am to be Canadian and how I think our country is the right country to host the Games and how much I believe in our country.?
What exactly will be in the final presentation has been a closely guarded secret. The Vancouver team has been rehearsing in a austere law library at a university near their hotel. Any media hoping for a glimpse were quickly shooed away.
John Furlong, president and chief operating officer of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corp., remained elusive Tuesday on the details but opened the bank on the loonie logic.
?Every Canadian in the hall will have a loonie that was given to them that they will be required to treasure for the rest of their lives,? said Furlong.
?We hope it will bring us good fortune. More than anything it is a symbol of unity between the people on our team. We are going to go in there hand-in-hand and do the best we can.?
The final presentation cost $275,000 to produce. There will be video messages from prominent Canadians and scenes showing Vancouver and Whistler's splendour.
There have been hints Canadian superstars Celine Dion or Shania Twain may make a video appearance.
Also taking part will be Furlong, Jack Poole, the bid's chairman, Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob, Canadian Olympic Committee chairman Michael Chambers, former downhill skier Steve Podborski and Charmaine Crooks, a Summer Olympics silver medallist and IOC member.
Gretzky, who is loath to fly, said he brought his wife Janet and children to Prague because he believes in the Vancouver bid.
?I'm not here to fly 16 hours for something I really didn't believe in,? he said. ?This is something I believe in my heart is right.?
Dressed in a rumpled white shirt, Gretzky's presence at the news conference drew media from Canada, the U.S., Germany and the Czech Republic.
Gretzky laughed when a local radio reporter asked him if it was difficult coming to Prague after the Czech hockey team had beaten Canada in the semifinals of the 1998 Nagano Games.
?That's pretty good,? he said with a grin. ?We won in 2002 so it made it easy to come here.?
He said he spent Monday afternoon shopping with his family, then had dinner with Jaromir Jagr and Petr Nedved at Jagr's sports bar.
After holding the spotlight during the news conference, Gretzky was content to stand in the shadows with his children during a Canada Day garden party at the Canadian Embassy.
Furlong said Gretzky's presence, and the winning aura he brings, is a boost to Vanouver's chances.
?It means a lot to everyone on the bid team,? he said. ?It means a lot to every Canadian.?
vancouver this vancouver that. 
We can split rent.
