In honour of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games coming to Vancouver, I thought I should do a blog post somewhat dedicated to the event. I’m getting pretty amped for the Games to start in February, and I thought this might help some of those people who maybe aren’t that excited about the Olympics (yet).

I have had this version of O Canada by Classified running through my head for the past month – I blame my brother Wes, because he posted the link to it on twitter. I downloaded it too, so I hear it on my iPod every once in awhile while I am commuting to and from work on the bus. Nothing gets me pumped up more than hearing O Canada. I’ve always liked it; it gives you a feeling of pride, or even a bit of a chill when you hear it, especially before a hockey game.

I have another version of O Canada in my iTunes by Big Sugar, an instrumental version. This got me thinking, “I wonder how many versions of O Canada I can find.. just on YouTube?” Well, there are a ton, but these are the ones I narrowed down to being the coolest, and most share-worthy.

First things first, here is the one by Classified. I bet it’s going to be stuck in your head, too.

The instrumental version by Big Sugar (the only one with good sound quality I could find):

O Canada – a rock version by the DuBay Band

Sung ‘a cappella’ by a group of boys called the Hojas:

Sarah McLachlan at a Montreal Expo’s game in 1996:

Deborah Cox at the NBA All-Star game in 2008:

Canadian Idol Eva Avila at the Grey Cup in 2006:

We need at least one French/English version, so the obvious choice is Celine Dion (she screws it up at the end!), but there’s no real video, just a bunch of pictures. Boo. It’s all I could find.

And just for fun – Stompin Tom Connors’ Hockey Song, because I’m in that kind of mood:

There you have it folks. Some pretty awesome versions of our National Anthem! Get ready to sing it, and sing it proud in the next couple of weeks, because I’m guessing you might hear it a few times.