"Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is." - Vince Lombardi
I have enjoyed watching the Olympics these past two weeks. At this point Canada has the same number of medals as we had in Beijing - albeit fewer of them gold. We have only once heard our anthem played as a Canadian medalist stepped onto the podium. It was been thrilling though to see our athletes accept their medals, no matter what the colour.
One thing I have really noticed about the games this time is the unprecedented number of tears being shed during interviews of the athletes. Tiffany Foster wailed on camera after she was disqualified because her horse had an injury. Diver Roseline Filion sobbed through an interview after finishing 10th and BMX rider, Connor McCormack cried pitifully when interviewed following his semi-final race when it turned out he did not qualify for the final. What is up with all the caterwauling? I understand that these athletes are disappointed but these public displays during interviews seem, at least to me, to be rather unbecoming and unsportsmanlike. In contrast, I didn't see the Women's Soccer Team crying after the game they lost to the U.S. team and they had good reason to cry. I know they made some controversial comments about the Norwegian referee but they didn't publicly cry. And Damian Warner exuded happiness when he finished fifth in the decathlon - thrilled to get so many personal bests and to be in London in the company of world class athletes and his family.
When the torch is extinguished on these games tomorrow, it is those athletes I will remember.
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