Canada has yet to win a medal at the Beijing Olympics. This development is mashing couch potatoes across the country into some kind of bitter, frustrated vodka, but for those of you scoring at home, this page finds himself somewhat indifferent to the futility. However, lurking though the CBC and Globe & Mail discussion threads, one would be left with the impression that sending over 300 athletes who have won 0 medals to Beijing is some kind of crisis. Before a Canadian athlete manages to win a medal, allow me to pose this scenario: what if Canada doesn't win any medals in Beijing? What if two years from now, Canada doesn't Own The Podium (tm) in Vancouver? Are we going to feel that much differently about this country than you do now? Would we really trade free elections, public health care and education, (relatively) breathable air and (relatively) safe drinking water for what amounts to a few collectors coins on a string?
It's not a question of athletes not trying hard enough, or giving athletes more money: the major reason for Canada's defeats at the Beijing Games is that somebody else is winning. There are, after all, over 200 countries competing, and as this page is painfully aware of following my beloved Seattle Mariners (and their $117 Million Payroll), sometimes it just isn't your year, and throwing money at a team doesn't solve the problem. Shifting national priorities just because the ball isn't bouncing Canada's way for a couple of weeks this month won't do anything but appease the jocksniffers who use the terms 'support our athletes', 'support our troops', and 'support the Tories' interchangeably.
No comments:
Post a Comment