Almost a full week after the closing ceremonies, we’re still beaming about the Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Despite a slow start, Canada finished with more gold medals than any other nation – ever. Considering our population pales in comparison to that of the U.S. and Germany, the only two nations to beat Canada’s overall medal count of 26, it is an amazing accomplishment.
We will forever remember the performances of athletes like Alex Bilodeau (the first gold on home soil), Christine Nesbitt, Jon Montgomery, Joannie Rochette (what courage) and Clara Hughes (perhaps Canada’s greatest female athlete ever). And who could forget the performance of both hockey teams under such pressure?
But victories aside, the Vancouver Games were a resounding success for another reason. It would be easy to criticize the financial cost or the early mishaps, but these Games inspired a sense of national pride we have never before witnessed.
Even the most casual Sports fans, it seemed, rushed home to watch the latest event or at least catch the highlights. We were glued to the television for hours on end, even when we promised ourselves we’d move on to more pressing tasks after 20 minutes or so. It was addictive, emotional and, as one of our friends so aptly put it, magical.
The Globe and Mail’s Stephen Brunt said it best: “Apparently, it wasn’t all about flawless execution and it wasn’t all about winning medals and it wasn’t even all about sport. It was about providing an opportunity, a platform, an excuse, to let loose pent-up feelings of national pride, to express, without apology, with a spirit of joy, a national identity, hitting emotional notes beyond the usual touchstones of climate and geography, of politeness, tolerance, universal health care and hockey. It was fun … and it was liberating and it felt good, the power of collectively giving a damn.”
It’s sure to dwindle over time, but it is our hope that deep down inside, that special, one-of-a-kind feeling will remain in the minds and hearts of all Canadians – as it will in ours.
Well done, Canada.
