Own the Odium

Although our providing $117M over the last 5 years to support Olympic athletes was good, calling the effort "Own the Podium" was a lousy idea. It paints Canadians as arrogant, bad sportsmen and small minded. To add to this display of rudeness and lack of respect, access to practice sites was strictly limited (to Canadian athletes). We denied access to the Olympic Oval to German, Chinese and Dutch teams to give home-grown athlete's an advantage. Aksel Lund Svindal, of Norway, who usually trains in Canada, wasn't allowed to continue that activity, pre-Olympics. American speedskater Catherine Raney, who spent more than seven years living and training in Canada, was told that the Canadians did not want foreign athletes training with them leading to the 2010 Games. ("It’s un-Canadian", Raney said.) At the Whistler downhill course, unfamiliar to most of the world’s best skiers, several medal contenders were left watching over a fence as the Canadian team trained. Australia's moguls team was prevented from attending a training camp with the Canadian team. As noted in the Globe and Mail: "Canada – lovable, fair-minded, tolerant, decent Canada – has allowed its athletes to practice at venues denied to other countries' athletes. Other countries are furious at Canada's poor sportsmanship." It makes me ill. Then, the tragedy: The death of Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili. How much can be attributed to the lack of practice runs by non-Canadian competitors? Were we gracious hosts? Hardly! WAKE UP CANADA! "We stand on guard for thee" doesn't mean locking doors to "foreigners". It's not that excluding competitors is unusual. Many host countries do it. For example, the world-leading Chinese and Australian aerial skiing teams were locked out of a training complex in Utah at the behest of the rival US team. Canadian skaters didn't get on the ice once in the last (Turin) Olympics and skiers were not allowed to train with the Italians. WE SHOULD NOT!! And "Own the Podium" pressure was on for the athletes. For example, Kristina Groves won silver in the women's 1,500 speed skating. That was a failure. She was apologetic. As the Vancouver Sun noted: "Somebody should be apologizing for what's happening here. But it isn't our athletes." However, I was pleased to see (hear?) the largely Canadian audience cheer all athletes, regardless of country-of-origin. Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, thanked Canada "For your unfailing courtesy" and "... for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us." That's Canadian, eh? Perhaps I should modify my rant: Wake up CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE! You've made us seem vain, immodest, unseemly ... and un-Canadian. Canada has won more medals than ever before and the most gold of any country (in Winter Olympics). So, am I a proud Canadian? Hardly! It was best described by the Times online: Well done, Canada, you Own The Odium. ------------------------------------------ Canadian speed skater, Clara Hughes, the world's only Olympian to win multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Olympics, said: "It's been incredible to be Canadian here and to feel the sense of pride, to see all these young people out there watching and learning and being inspired. To me that is the value of the Olympics and that is the potential of sport and if you're going to base that only on medals, I don't know what planet you live on." Good fer you, Clara! ------------------------------------------ In 1988, Canada held the Winter Olympics in Calgary. It's regarded as one of the best. It was .. like an invitation to the world: "We have these neat new facilities. Come play with us!" Canada didn't win a single gold medal. Those were the days, my friend. ------------------------------------------ Now here's a great Olympic story: The Snow Leopard, from Ghana. Now here's a lousy Olympic story: Brian McKeever, legally blind, was hoping to become the first athlete to compete in both the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. He qualified for the Olympic team after winning a 50K trial in December. At the last moment, he was removed from Canada's four-man team for the 50km cross-country. Why? "Officials" thought they had a better chance of winning without him. Own the Podium. Remember? McKeever was devastated. I would have been proud had all the Canadian members of the team volunteered to let Mckeever race. The race is today (Sunday, Feb 28). I can't say I'll be cheering for the Canadians. I will be cheering for the Canadian hockey team.