Lots of impatience and rain as opening nears

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The XXI Olympic Winter Games begin today, and that’s about the only thing certain about them.

The star is hurting, and there’s more snow in Manhattan than on some of the mountains here.

Oh, and there could be two Olympic flames.

Back in Canada for the first time since 1988 in Calgary, the games open with the Olympics’ first-ever indoor opening ceremony.

Organizers have kept a tight lid on details, and that’s fitting for an Olympics full of questions.

Will the potential headline act, American skier Lindsey Vonn, overcome a shin injury and vie for multiple medals? Will the snowboard/freestyle skiing venue — already needing emergency snow imports — survive the latest bout of inclement weather? Will Canada’s home team thrive or wilt under the pressure of its bold ambition to dominate the games?

One burning question, at least, will be answered tonight when the opening ceremonies end with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. For days, Canadians have been speculating and debating whether the honor should go to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player ever in Canada’s most cherished sport, or some lesser-known, inspirational figure.

In any case, about 55,000 spectators will pack into BC Place Stadium for the opening, under the largest air-supported dome in North America. That roof may be a blessing — the forecast predicts showers during the ceremony and through the weekend, diminishing the coast-and-mountain vistas that can be breathtaking on a clear day.

The games’ organizers have a tough act to follow — staging an opening ceremony just 18 months after the spectacular start of the Beijing Summer Olympics, watched by a couple of billion people worldwide as China strode onto the global stage.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee opted for narrower goals, saying its foremost priority was to unite Canadians in support of the games and the national team. Canada has shed its reputation for modesty, publicly proclaimed its ambition to win the most medals, and invested $117 million in an Own The Podium program to make first place a realistic possibility by the time the games end Feb. 28.

For many Canadians, success will be incomplete unless it includes a gold medal for the men’s hockey team, whose success or failure could be one of the games’ defining dramas.

Even before the opening ceremonies, the sports phase of the games begins this afternoon with ski jumping qualifications at Whistler, where fog, snow and rain have disrupted some of the Alpine ski training runs.