Who To Cheer For

Very easy job this weekend in the category of who to cheer for this weekend. There is only one choice - Canada.

Whether you want to cheer for the men's hockey team tonight and then on the weekend as they play for a medal or whether you want to cheer for the curling teams, both men's and women's curling are going for gold.

The other reason to cheer is for the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 games. The closing ceremonies at the Olympics are always the biggest party. Athletes can finally let loose all at the same time and the closing ceremonies gives a chance for the hosts to close the show in a big way and pass the torch (literally) to the next host country, in this case Russia. So we'll probably see some some Russian elements in the closing ceremonies also.

There are rumours that Nickelback is performing during the closing ceremonies, which is big, but all I have to say about that is I am glad it isn't Celine Dion.

Owning The Podium

Yesterday the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC)came out with a statement that they would not Own The Podium at this Olympics. The dream of the last five years to win the medal count at our home games in Vancouver was lost. In fact, the plan that was implemented, bragged about in the media and carried out by sport federations, had not worked as planned conceded the COC in a statement and most Canadian sports fans have been in agreement.

With less than a week to go before the closing ceremonies, Canada is not close to the medal count of the Turin games and we currently sit fifth in the medal standings, really not acceptable for a country that has the nickname "great white north". Although Canada is not going to win the medal race, did we improve at these games like the Own the Podium program wanted us to?

By the looks of it, Canada will set a record for the most golds ever won for itself. This is a big accomplishment for a country that went into the games never having won a gold on home soil. Winning this many gold medals (currently only one behind the US-with among other sports both hockey and curling to go), is huge and in my opinion exactly what Own The Podium was supposed to do. COC funded athletes so they could concentrate on preparing for the games. They wanted all Olympic athletes to be in top form in Vancouver and that is what we have received.

Where the Own The Podium breaks down is when the medal favourites don't live up to expectations. There were certain Olympians that were being counted on for medals because of their past history. Athletes like Pierre Leuders, Patrick Chan or some of the speed skaters who have past world championship wins or Olympic gold medals. As Canadians, we believed that with the extra funding they could repeat their wins. Unfortunately, in most cases our past successes were not repeated in Vancouver. What we have received are the athletes that were top 10 in the world come to the forefront and win medals in Vancouver. Our first medalist - Alexandre Bilodeau was not the favourite coming into the games, but perhaps because of the Own The Podium program he was able to put in the extra time and become the best in the world.

If the program helped our fringe medal athletes become medalists, I believe the program worked and it should continue through to London 2012 and Sochi 2014. Now, if we can just figure out how to prepare our medal favourites so that they can put the pressure behind them and perform in crunch time...

GOLD JERRY, GOLD!

I have been ranting to whoever would listen for the past week that I am not the biggest fan of the Olympics. This has to do with amateur athletics, which is a whole other topic for another day...BUT, last night was special for Canadians because one of our own decided to be the best - finally.

It took two Olympic games and three days into the third for a Canadian to win a gold on home soil. The victory in men's moguls for Alexandre Bilodeau will go down in Canadian sporting lore. He will take his place among the great Canadian athlete's of all time because of his amazing run down the slope at Cypress Mountain.

Alexandre almost wasn't the man. The night before, gold medal favorite in the women's moguls, Jenn Heil did all she could to hold the honour of being the first Canadian athlete to win on home soil, but she was foiled by the last skier of the night. So, the stage was set for Bilodeau and he came through for Canadians from Newfoundland to Vancouver and everywhere in between.

When we now think of athlete's to represent Canada, we can put Bilodeau up with the likes of Gretzky, Steve Nash, Barbara-Ann Scott, Rick Hansen and Terry Fox.

What other athlete's will we think of the next time Canada hosts the Olympics and we need to pick a famous person to light the cauldron (assuming that we can get the cauldron to work)? Besides the names listed above, we could think of Paul Henderson or maybe Russ Jackson?

Who would you put on a list of greatest Canucks of all time?

Olympic Drinking Game

Well, the winter Olympic games live from Vancouver are set to begin tomorrow night. While we prepare for two weeks of tales of hard work and perseverance, underdog stories and sponsors relentless advertising, it is good to have something to distract you. This is where the Olympic Drinking game comes in...

To make the Olympic games and of course the Opening and Closing ceremonies more fun for the general public I have developed a drinking game. This is currently designed to work while viewing the games on Canadian TV. Although, it would be very easy to substitute the American, Polish or Ukrainian versions of some items on the list.

To start, gather a group of friends (unless you are an alcoholic and like to drink alone) in a room with a big TV or two. Put your favorite beverage on ice and make sure to have enough of it handy, I have a feeling you could be drinking a lot.

There are 3 categories, take a sip, take a gulp and finish your drink.

So print out the following list and keep it handy, it's going to be a long two weeks...

TAKE A SIP
There is a reference to the Olympics being “The Party coming to Canada”
They show special interest story about an athlete
A commentator tells you what the athlete is thinking
They run that moving CTV song/commercial “I Believe”
Each time an athlete screws up, they say “He/She was perfect in practice”
A former Olympian/Commentator let’s us know what they would have done differently or reminisces on the old days
Every time the commentators mention the total number of delegates a country has brought to the Olympics.
They mention that no Canadian has ever won gold on Canadian soil
They show us Sidney Crosby, Martin Brodeur or Scott Niedermeyer

TAKE A GULP
They talk about the lack of snow/how warm it is in Vancouver
Each time Canada wins a Medal – any medal. It will only happen about 25 times so take advantage.
Commentators says an athlete is bringing their “A Game”, is going to “give 110%” or “is a contender for a medal”
A country is mentioned that is participating in the winter Olympics, even though they have no snow
The commentators talk about the “social impact” of the games and/or show protesters
A "special guest" appears in studio
They have a reporter wander around Whistler
Each time there is a highlight reel, mixed with a Canadian recording artists song (ex. Bryan Adams, Shania Twain or the Barenaked Ladies)

FINISH YOUR DRINK
If your home town is mentioned.
You learn of a country's existence for the first time as they cross the field at Opening Ceremonies.
The wrong country is named during their opening procession

***Just so you know, the photo is of American snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, for a list of the 25 hottest athletes at the Olympics click here.

Olympic Flame Is Burning

In just 74 days (at the time of posting) the Olympic flame will be lit in Vancouver and the world will watch as amateur athletes (and some pro ones - looking at you hockey) take centre stage for two weeks.

Before the Olympics start one of the best traditions in sport is that the Olympic flame is lit in Greece and then makes the trek to whatever country is hosting. From ground zero, the "official torch relay" begins. The host country will organize a run across the country to promote the games and get to get everyone involved. Make them feel special. This is happening in Canada right now...

The torch has been to the northern most points in the Yukon, all the way East to PEI and Nova Scotia and is now making its way back West to Vancouver for the start of the Olympics in February.

This is where the torch relay gets interesting. Currently, it is going through Quebec. The torch path is lined with locals trying to get a quick glimpse of the flame and every one in the crowd is waving - Canada flags?

That is right, the province that is constantly trying to be its own boss, implement its own laws and even wants to enter its own athletes in the Olympics, has people waving Canadian flags, instead of the fleur de lys. Now I am not saying that some Quebecois aren't patriotic, but there are a good number of Quebecois that would rather separate from Canada, and have made no secret about it during the past 20 years.

Even though a significant portion of the population is anti-Canadian, the organizers of the relay have treated them the same as the rest of Canada leading up to the most patriotic of events - the Olympics. I am pretty sure the rest of Canada would appreciate seeing more of the torch.

Nothing brings a country together like the Olympics and maybe the torch relay going through Quebec will allow people realize that it isn't that bad being attached to the rest of Canada.