What kind of Canadian would I be if I did not mention the Olympic Winter Games that happened right here in my own backyard (if only that were literal..). The XXI winter games that happened at Vancouver had many high points and low points. I am here to offer my perspective on the games themselves as a whole.
To begin, I offer my prayers to the much noted Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, who perished during a trainer run at the sliding center. May he rest in piece after such a tragic accident. On the same subject, however, why in all the hells in all the worlds did the CTV (Canadian Television) station broadcast his fatal crash? I mean, the guy just died and you keep showing it like a sports blooper! All you needed was some special effects and funny sounds.. Shame on the CTV for doing such a thing.
Moving on, the sliding center came under fire from athletes and coaches as being too dangerous, which in my opinion, it was a little dangerous. But lets look at the facts: You are sliding down ice on a piece of wood with blades attached at upwards of 145 Kilometers per hour with nothing but a helmet and a speedo-like suit. The entire sport is dangerous. If you do not like danger and adreneline rushes, you are in the wrong event my friend. Teams of note that were particularly vocal about this were the Germans and the French. No one's forcing you to go down the track. But hear this out: This is not just an event during the regular season of sliding leading up to the World Cup, where the track is easy and uneventful. This is not a World Cup where you win a trophy for yourself. This is the Olympics, where the best athletes converge to represent their country. If the track is not difficult, then what is the point of the sport during the olympics when even the most inexperienced slider can race down and win? I am happy that they raised the turn where Nodar perished to accomodate safety, but stop your whining and go down the track already.
On a different note, the protesters of the Olympics merit a mention. Everyone should have the right to free speech. Its what allows bloggers such as my newly found self to voice their opinions, perspectives, and voices to what they deem needs voicing. But the protesters at these games did not only voice their opinions, they made sure to cause havoc in the streets of Vancouver. During the torch relay, protesters blocked the entrance of one of the runners and would not move in protest for the games. The runner had to make a detour to get to his destination. What was the point? Did you really think by blocking one road of the torch relay that you would stop the games? Did that get your voice heard? All that was broadcast was your lack of patriotism and love for your respective countries, wherever you may come from. Your goal was not only left unaccomplished, but it failed miserably in reaching the masses. Also, one of the things that need mentioning is what I found to be called Riot 2010. According to their Facebook page, they plan on breaking down shops near the olympic games, giving tourists wrong directions, blocking traffic, causing havoc, and another random craziness. I just want to clarify one thing for these people that are part of Riot 2010: The people you are creating trouble for had nothing to do with the Olympics coming to Vancouver!
On another note, one of the protests I did see during these games was a peaceful protest that happened during a broadcast session that had a crowd in the background. Many of them held signs pointing viewers to specific websites to demonstrate to people why they feel the need to protest. This, I wholeheartedly believe is the best way to protest. Groups like Riot 2010 cause havoc in downtown Vancouver, and no one really knows why they are doing this unless you are a member of that group. It is a useless protest that has no cause but to create havoc. They are anarchists who are willing to fight for whatever comes by, be it an olympic games or a new dentistry office opening near their living space in their mother's basements. Those who performed like on the broadcast, however, got their message out to the masses. It opened the public to why they were there in the first place. Isn't that why your protesting in the first place, to raise public awareness?
I feel like parts of that was a rant, and for that I apologize. There were upsides to the Olympic games in Vancouver as well.
To begin with, I was proud to be viewing the first event that the first ever Ghana Olympic skier named Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong who raced int he Alpine skiing. Nicknamed the Snow Leopard, he represented his African nation's first ever skier for the winter games. And while he was at least 20 seconds behind the pace set by leading skiers, he received a standing ovation by the crowd at Cypress Hill. It is stories such as that of Kwame that make Olympic dreams come true and send shivers down your spine (he placed 53/102, due to many disqualifications)
What better way to finish this off than with Hockey? Canada's game. It is our Football of the US, our Soccer of Europe, our martial arts of the East Asias. The Men's Hockey was a fascinating game to watch, not because Canada won the gold in one of the best games in the history of the sport, but because most of the teams were equal enough to be really close games. Case in points: Canada's shootout win against Switzerland, Belarus's win over Sweden, Slovakia's win over Russia, and Canada's win over Russia. It is always sweet to win gold; it is even sweeter to win gold after facing such tough opponents, after the dramas of overtimes and shootouts and losses.
The Olympic Games held in Vancouver might hace caused a few controversies (Evgeni Plushenko, anyone?) but all-in-all and nationality aside, it was one of the best winter games I've seen in a long time. It was made all the sweeter by Sidney Crosby.
Click Here to see just how important this game was to so many people across the world. And here.
I believed..
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