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Although Rebagliati kept his medal, many within snowboarding felt the damage inflicted by the incident would unfairly taint his victory and the sport's debut. "Thanks to an idiotic mistake by the I.O.C., snowboarding's debut is going to be remembered as the year those wacky pot smokers invaded the Olympics, not as the year snowboarding athletes showed the world an amazing new sport," said Lee Crane, director of Snowboarding Online www.solsnowboarding.com) a Website devoted to snowboard news. Still, many in snowboarding saw the notoriety as a chance to exert influence. "Snowboarding has always been about youth confronting adult society. That's why it has dramatically affected sports, fashion and music," says Brad Steward, president of Bonfire Snowboarding, a clothing manufacturer. "Now it's clear that snowboarding has an opportunity to influence larger social issues, and I think that's a positive opportunity for kids to speak their mind."
--With reporting by Barry Hillenbrand and Lawrence Mondi/Nagano, Mary Jollimore/Toronto and Maggie Sieger/Whistler
Galbraith is a senior editor at Snowboarder magazine.