Riding home on the bus Monday, I was standing beside a fellow who had an Olympics pass hanging around his neck. When he looked the other way I checked it out. He was a bus driver, probably one of he few hundred American ones who were given the jobs instead of hiring Canadians.

I have no strong feelings about it, certainly not against the bus drivers themselves who got to see our city and were given this break from the harder economic times south of the border. I struck up a conversation with him and he was eager to talk. He was from Philadelphia. He said his visit has caused him to change his favourite Canadian city from Toronto to Vancouver. He didn't have much of a chance to see anything during the regular Olympics but work was lighter now and he could explore the city.

His one sour note was the final big night when the Canadian men's hockey team squeaked out a win over the American team to win gold. He said he overheard some blatantly anti-American comments from Canadian fans that hurt. Not good sportsmanship, he said, and I agreed. Canadians are smug and superior in their treatment of Americans. It is sometimes justifiable, but then the only things that need justification are failures and mistakes. We were busy patting ourselves on the back for being such good hosts while bad-mouthing our guests.

How is it that we come to the conclusion that the Olympic Games build bridges between nations?