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GO CANADA
… we stand on guard for thee
Friday Feb. 21, 2014
So far I’ve avoided writing about these Winter Olympics in Sochi – in part because I didn’t want to be a fan of sports I don’t follow, I didn’t want to talk about Russian politics or rioting in the Ukraine but yesterday’s golden moments, especially for our women, cannot go unheralded so here I am!
Winning is wonderful.
Losing sucks.
Sports, like everything in life, have fewer people taking 1st prize than we have people not taking 1st prize.
Focus on winning at the Olympic level is not for the faint of heart – which requires us to re-think what winning really means.
We burst with pride when our country’s representatives own the podium and we wince for those who fall, falter or fail to be the best on finals day. We need to remember how great they all are – just to make the team, to compete for us on that world stage. But really, they aren’t competing for us. But we armchair athletes like to co-opt them as if they are ‘ours’, our team, as if we had anything to do with it . . .
While most people would agree that a silver medal is awesome, it is easy to understand why some athletes would rather take bronze than ‘miss the gold’. So true yesterday for the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team, and the Swedish Women’s Curling Team. Such excellence, falling short because of a momentary mental lapse, a small error – moments that were magic for one side, and what will become a recurring nightmare for the others.
Like life.
Sometimes we win big.
Close - - - only counts in horseshoes.
All the athletes, so many countries – awesome talent, best of the best at everything, performing at the top of their game, inspiring fans from every country to drop their jaws with amazement when Adelina Sotnikova’s free-skate vaulted her to a gold medal … awesome!
But, no … I’m writing about curling.
As a rule, I find watching curling as exciting as watching paint dry.
Yesterdays’ GOLD in Women’s curling – wow what a tight game except for the Swede’s mistake in the 9th end … go Canada!
Then the women’s hockey Gold medal game – a nail-biter if ever there was one, to tie the game late in the 3rd period and then win it in overtime was spectacular, especially since they were so clearly outplayed for most of the game by the Americans. Oh well, gold to Canada. And freestyle ski cross – Canadian women coming away with gold AND silver medals … what a day!
There were other medals yesterday in other events – and great progress in other competitions where Canadians are doing well and remain medal hopefuls, but you can’t help but be pumped about yesterday’s performance by our Canadian women – winning medals in bobsleigh and skiing.
Day 14, 2 days to go. More skiing. More skating. More hockey. And more curling – our Canadian men are in a gold medal game today . . . underway right now!
Go Canada.
Mark Kolke
198,904
column written/ published from Calgary
morning walk: -8C / 18F, calm, good sprint – dashing between icy and dry spots in early dark/quiet, lit by a half-moon
Reader feedback / comments always welcome:
Greetings from South Africa. Thank you for your inspiring words. You are the reason that I am more keen each morning to see what the day holds for me. Keep doing what you do best, inspire and motivate us all, RS, Durban, South Africa .. P.S. .. Your work is so motivational and I don’t think you even have the slightest clue what a positive impact his has on me. Been through hell and back and happy to say that I survived it and even bought the shirt as well to prove it.
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