The Olympic Standard

I've had the time of my life over the past ten days watching as much of the Olympics as I possibly can. Due to amazing coverage from CTV and others, it's hard to miss a beat. Sportscasters have educated me as sports have come and gone so that I never feel ignorant to what is going on.

But that's not what this post is about.

For me, there's been one resounding theme for these Olympics above anything else: disappointment.

Granted the people on TV have done a great job and have offered an amazing amount of support to our athletes.

But among us normal citizens, the watchers of the games, we have talked about nothing more than the disappointments during the Olympics.

And it tears me up.

Sure, canadians have expectations from these Olympics because we were told to. We were expected to have the most medals, and to win the most golds (very possible by the way). Fair enough. But if we win 20 medals as a country instead of 30, have we really failed?

In my opinion, not one bit.

I can't remember being so proud to be a Canadian as I have during these games. I have chosen to cherish the good moments and ignore the disappointments. In a society where people tend to be judged on what they have succeeded to do, why do we focus more on the people who have failed to accomplish their goals?

Oh, we've had our fair share of disappointments. I won't deny you that. I could write a page on our failed attempts (self-induced, or otherwise): six skiers getting injured in the four months leading up to the Olympics, our speedskaters including one who stepped on something on the ice and didn't have time to repair her skates, Hollingsworth in skeleton, Paradis, etc. etc. etc.

But that's not the point. And it shouldn't be. It shouldn't matter nearly as much as something like tonight.

I've never watched ice dance in my life, and I probably won't until the next Olympics. But I was mesmerized by the flawless skating from our Canadian duo, Virtue and Muir. And when they finished, I had shivers going down my spine. When it was clear we were taking home the gold, I was glowing. And when the national anthem came on, I stood at attention to the laughter of others in the room, but I didn't care. These are the moments that define us.

This is the reason I watch the games. Not to watch the number of medals increase, not to se if we make our standard, but to see something beautiful, to see a Canadian perform and be rewarded for it.


For a lot of people I've talked to, it seems they care about three things: gold, silver, and bronze. But to me, Canadian athletes have done the three things that are so important to me as a Canadian:

They have competed with passion.
They have won with humility.
They have lost with dignity and pride intact.

People like to get upset and say things like "clearly they didn't do their best, they were expected to win and they came sixth".

But I can assure you that every single one of them has given it their all. You can see it in their faces as they compete, you can see it with their emotions when they win or lose.

And when they don't meet expectations, don't be harsh on them. We like to sit comfortably in our basement with snacks in hand, yelling at the underachievers.

But them, they've spent the past several years training for this exact day. Making sacrifices. Overcoming struggles. And for this, we should be proud. Because you can be sure that as upset as we can be with them for not winning for us, their disappointment is tenfold ours.



As the Olympics come to a close in a week or so, let's work on being positive. Let us be an encouragement to all of the athletes, regardless of outcome.

Let's not dwell on missed opportunities, but cherish the amazing moments we have been able to witness; the Virtue/Moirs, the Bilodeaus, and everytime you see a Canadian giving it their all.

We owe them that.
Be proud. Be loud.


Cheers.