POST OLYMPIC REFLECTION - Norman da Costa

Post Winter Olympic Reflection

by Norman Da Costa

It was reminiscent of a massive tidal wave crashing ashore and sweeping everything in its path.

This surge of red covered every nook and cranny from coast to coast and united Canadians like at no other time in our history.

Sports has a way of igniting fervour even among the many who do not care about sportsmen or their achievements. Countless argue that supporting athletes is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

But even these diehards waved the white flag in surrender this time and, for once, threw their unstinted support behind our Canadian athletes at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

In my 34 years in this country I have never witnessed such unbridled patriotism. Why didn’t this happen before? Canada has competed in the Olympics for decades and hosted the Summer Games in Montreal (1976) and the Winter Games in Calgary (1988), but there was never any outright show of passion like the one displayed this time.

Granted, we did not win a gold medal in 1976 and 1988, making us the laughing stock of the world. But after Alexandre Bilodeau nailed our first gold ever at home, the floodgates opened and we finished on top of the podium on 14 occasions – the greatest haul of gold by a host nation.

For me it wasn’t the glitter of gold that made me proud of being Canadian. It was the never-before-seen positive attitude and a new-found resolve that stepping on the podium was of paramount importance. I have been fortunate to be with Canadian athletes at the summer Olympics and at the Pan Ams and what continually surprised me was that the majority of the athletes had such low expectations of themselves.

Reaching the final of an event or achieving a personal best was the highlight of their Olympic experience. I found this mind-set hard to fathom and was convinced it would never change because they always had a ready-made excuse – “we are grossly under-funded.”

The poor souls. They get a monthly stipend from the government. They have no idea that all the athletes from Africa and in many other parts of the world receive are official uniforms, training gear and meals. Yet, that doesn’t stop them from winning medals.

I remember the great Kipchoge Keino once telling me that the most financial assistance he received from competing in Europe in the 1960s was a measly $21 a meet as he was an amateur. That did not stop him from smashing world records or winning Olympic and Commonwealth Games’ gold medals.

So what happened to the Canucks this time around? What transformed their thinking? Thank Chris Rudge of the Canadian Olympic Association.

With the government pouring in $117 million to fund the athletes, Rudge coined the “Own the Podium” mantra.

After a slow first week our athletes hit their stride. It was refreshing to see people spontaneously breaking out into “O, Canada.” We rose above the political differences that divide this country thanks to our sporting heroes.

Credit must go to CTV for its excellent blanket coverage and the station must take a huge chunk of credit for making all of us feel proud to be Canadians.

It is mind-boggling that 15 million that watched the opening ceremony and records indicate that 98 per cent of our population had at one time or the other tuned in to the Games coverage.

What is even most staggering is that 26 million had their eyes glued to the set when Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal gave Canada the gold medal over the United States. That put a golden exclamation on Canada’s most successful Games.

Now let us hope our summer athletes can do us just as proud in the summer of 2012 in London.

WORTH NOTING: Those born here identify themselves with winter sport and that is understandable since we are snow bound for four to five months of the year. So it is natural that the majority of the sportsmen and women competing were Caucasian since recent immigrants find the expense of outfitting their kids for winter sports prohibitive.

But that was no excuse for the scandalous decision by the Games’ CEO John Furlong of excluding everyone of colour from the opening ceremony.

I couldn’t believe this would happen in a country that preaches diversity. How could Furlong and his cronies forget Lennox Lewis, who struck Olympic boxing gold for Canada, or the great Oakville sprinter Donovan Bailey, a two-time gold medallist.

I know they are summer Olympians, so what? They still got basketball’s Steve Nash to light the flame and also called on Formula One’s Jacques Villeneuve to carry the Olympic flag. Not that there was anything wrong with those two world-class stars, but why no Bailey or Lewis?

It was disgraceful to say the least, since Furlong, I believe, is also an immigrant and landed here from Ireland.

Norman Da Costa was sports editor with the Daily Nation and later an assistant sports editor and soccer columnist with the Toronto Star before opting for early retirement two years ago after 27 years with the newspaper.