As I sit here typing in the MPC — Main Press Center — in downtown Vancouver, a seaplane is taking off outside. It accelerates through the water, then rumbles over this cavernous building.

The MPC is in the Vancouver Convention Center (or Centre, as they say here in Canada … eh?), a building of airplane-hanger proportions that sticks out, pier-like, into the Burrard Inlet. Resembling a ship at full sail, it’s a stunning piece of architecture for a building this size.

Standing outside on its promenade, it’s difficult to tell that the city is hosting a Winter Olympics. There isn’t even an ice sculpture in sight, let alone snow. And even if there were snow, it would melt. It was 45 degrees today.

But inside the MPC, the parade of athletes into press conferences is a constant reminder that this is far from being a convention of journalists and photographers. The 21^st Winter Olympiad is about to begin.

In rooms lined with translator booths and video cameras, the Olympians have been sitting up on a stage, under bright lights, and answering reporters questions.

Yesterday, Billy Demong and Todd Lodwick told reporters that this Olympics is just business as usual for the U.S. Nordic combined team. Although Demong and Lodwick are Olympic veterans (fourth for Billy, fifth for Todd), they are heavily favored to medal this time around — because they’ve learned that they don’t need a miracle to win. The reigning world champions and their teammates only need to ski jump and race like they already have.

Today, in a press conference where reporters focused almost all their attention on injured skier Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso announced that she is launching a lingerie line. Harking back to the 2006 Olympics where she famously wore a tiara on her helmet in the slalom portion of the combined event, the 2006 giant slalom gold medalist’s lingerie line is called Kiss My Tiara. Visit her website for more information. 

And cross-country skier Kris Freeman told reporters that he isn’t going to change anything in his race plan because it’s the Olympics. “I approach every race the same way,” he said. “The biggest difference between the Olympics and every (other race) is you guys out there — the attention of the media.”

Oh, that’s us!

Next press conference please!