"National Pride"

I ain't much into this whole torch relay or "own the podium" shit because as far as I'm concerned it's more about selling coca cola than it is about national pride. I also am not a big fan of nationalism in general since I believe that more often than not it's an excuse to have a war over something instead of a reason to be proud of your country's people and their attributes.

I admit that I watch some of the stuff on TV and I always cheer for the home team but I certainly don't get stressed about it. I reserve special cynicism for the mens hockey tournament because all it really is, is an NHL all star tournament.

With such a casual attitude to all this imagine my surprise when I actually felt a little emotion last night. And imagine further that it came as a result of the womens hockey final! I jokingly mentioned before that womens hockey was the only thing I was going to watch since it was stress free. I still don't think it belongs in the olympics since there are only 2 countries in the world that are competitive but at least it is true amateur sport, with athletes who actually have to do something real for a living.

But before you think I got all broke up about our win over the hated Americans I need to tell you that I would have mourned for all of about 60 seconds if they had lost. No my emotional moment, my moment of national pride came after the game, and in actual fact came while the American women were receiving their silver medals. Unlike most athletes who are generally delerious to receive any medal, the Americans knew (you could see it on their faces) that they had in essence finished dead last. They knew that the whole tournament was about one game and they had lost. I actually felt a little sorry for them.

And it was near the end of the American part of the ceremony that my heart swelled a little. The crowd was appreciative as each of their names were announced, but when they were getting their flowers the applause spontaneously grew louder and more boisterous. They actually brought forth a few bars of the USA, USA chant. I know there were probably quite a few Anericams in the stands but the ovation they received was clearly from all the fans in the arena, and clearly a sincere gesture. You could see the spirits of the Americans lift with the acknowledgment they received from the crowd.

I don't know if we would have been as gracious if we had lost the game but regardless, I thought the whole display was something to be proud of. I am glad to live in a country that's known for it's diversity and it's decency. To me that's a whole lot more importnat than how many medals you win, or how much coca cola you can drink!

"A Canadian is sort of like an American, but without the gun."---Anon

love
peter