[This is an article I wrote for the Calistoga Tribune, it appeared in the Feb 12, 2010 issue.

Articles also
appear at www.FanOftheGames.com]

Must be time for some Olympic games

Editor’s note: Calistoga resident Peter Potrebic is on Vancouver attending the Winter Olympics with
his family – wife Jodie and sons Jake and Casey – and is sharing their experiences with Tribune
readers.
It seems like just a short while ago that I was completing my last
Fan of the Games
article from the Beijing Olympics, ending with a reference to the
532 days until Vancouver. Almost all those days are now behind us,
just 5 remain. And once again I feel so incredibly fortunate to be
headed to Vancouver with my family. I want to thank this local
paper and all the folks in Calistoga for the privilege of once again
Peter Potrebic
being Calistoga’s reporter on the ground.
Fortunate is truly how I feel. The world is quite a different place than back in ’07 and early ’08 when our
Beijing trip was planned, and more importantly paid for. The months and years since then have
impacted most of us, and we were not immune. A trip to Vancouver was far from a sure thing. Choices,
decisions and sacrifices had to be made. We are humbled by our opportunity.

During our shared economic troubles I faced some tough personal questions and spent quite some time
unsure if I wanted to continue in my current profession. One day, while discussing what was perhaps my
mid-life crisis, my Mom suggested I do something with my love for the Olympics, to find some way to
work with the USOC. What a great suggestion! And I made it happen. I reached out to the USOC and
they were very interested. The initial plan had me writing a bi-weekly “super fan” blog on their website,
but layoffs and perhaps an uncertainty about direction would put the brakes on that plan. They also
wanted me to write a “Fan Letter” in their official USOC Fan Guide to the Vancouver Games. That I did
write and back in December the Guide with my letter went live on the USOC’s website. How cool is that
– out of all the fans across America I wrote the Fan Letter. I’m very proud of that letter. Check it out on
the USOC website www.teamusa.org (3rd item on the Resources menu, or more simply go to
http://tinyurl.com/yhphvdh).

The failed “super fan” blog was a disappointment, but I decided to express myself none the less and
started my own blog – www.FanOfTheGames.com (by the way, I hold the term blog in great distain; I
can’t believe I’m using it). My articles in the Tribune will be an extension of that blog. You can also find a
link to my Fan Letter on my website, perhaps easier to find than navigating through the overly busy
USOC site.

Over the past few weeks as my energy for the Olympics has started to coalesce, and as I started thinking
forward to this year’s April Fools Bicycle Challenge (my second non-family / non-professional passion) I
decided to make a passion card, like a business card, but more fun! April Fools has a nice logo, but my
Olympic endeavors did not. With the help of Susanne Deiss-Costanzo I created such a logo, one that

Peter Potrebic www.FanOfTheGames.com copyright © 2010

truly captures my dynamic love and participation in the Olympics. Athletes and their competitions define
the Olympics. The IOC, USOC, and other organizing bodies are necessary to facilitate. The Media is
indispensable, spreading the words and deeds. The final piece is the fans. They, we, are a necessary
component of the Olympic dream. No fans, no sport. I cherish being one of those fans and I’m driven to
spread my love. Behind the politics, behind the drugs, behind the scandals, behind the greed there
remains the true athletes and their fields of play. Mother Theresa is known to have said “What you
spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.” Those words and the Olympic
ideals resonate in me. With passion cards in hand, with our kids excused from 9 days of school, and with
our car packed, we will be headed up I-5 towards Vancouver.

What will be in store? We have tickets for 9 or 10 events including USA Hockey, Speed Skating,
Snowboarding, Aerials, Cross-country Skiing, and perhaps our favorite Curling. We also have passes for 2
days at the USA House, where like in Beijing, we hope to meet some current and past Olympians.
Perhaps we’ll even get in a day of skiing ourselves. What will be the highlight – I couldn’t say, but you’ll
be sure to read about it here. So set your DVRs, enjoy the games, and look for updates each week in the
Tribune and read more frequent updates on my Fan of the Games website.

Peter Potrebic www.FanOfTheGames.com copyright © 2010