The crowd at the men’s halfpipe final was oddly subdued last night. Perhaps it was because only one Canadian made it to the 12-man final.

Or because it was almost a foregone conclusion that Shaun White would win. No other rider can match White’s new trick, a double McTwist 1260 — or “double mick,” as White called it on TV last night.

As White’s coach Bud Keene said, it’s the toughest trick there is.

“What separates Shaun from the majority of snowboarders is his focus and his motivation,” said Scotty Lago, bronze medalist in halfpipe last night. “He’s a perfectionist. That’s what makes him one of the best.”

Still, I would have thought the crowd would be more boisterous. Isn’t the halfpipe scene supposed to resemble a rock concert? The crowd last night was only uproarious when the Canadian rider, Justin Lamoureux, finished his two runs (he finished seventh), and when White stood at the top of the pipe before his second run with his arms stretched in the air.

There was also lots of cheering and waving of flags after he landed his “double mick” in his second run. But that was about it.

Perhaps the 4,400 or so ticket holders were worn out from the mile-long walk, culminating in a 200-step climb to the snowboarding venue stadium.

Back in Vancouver, people seemed more stoked. At midnight, you could still hear people saying, “Shaun White’s run was INSANE!”

White’s and Scotty Lago’s gold and bronze medals made for a historic day for the U.S. Never before at a Winter Olympics have six Americans won medals.

When Shaun White finally made it to the post-event press conference, he was asked to comment on the historic significance and what it meant for the team.

The guy who asked it must cover the football beat for his newspaper. Or baseball.

“The historical part … um, … it’s history man,” White said, and everyone laughed. “Shake and bake. You want to touch on that, Scotty?”

“You got it right,” said Lago. “It’s history.”