Golden

"I've learned that winning isn't everything, and it's more about the journey.  But at the end of the day, I just want to stand on the podium with the gold medal." - Hope Solo

It has been quite a day for our athletes in Sochi.  The Women's Curling Team won gold for the first time since Sandra Schmirler's golden performance in 1998.  A couple of hours later, the Women's Hockey Team won gold in overtime against their arch rivals from the U.S.  Both were exciting games to watch and of course it is thrilling to know we would twice see our anthem played as the winners ascend the podium.  But frankly, I had a bit of trouble with the commentating around the hockey win.

I haven't been a big fan of the CBC's coverage of the Olympics.  I found myself tweeting my displeasure, an unusual action for me, when the ice dancing competition was on and the commentators prattled on incessantly.  I'm not a big fan of Ron McLean and I just don't understand how we got to a place where we consider Don Cherry to be a national treasure.  Mr. Cherry gets under my skin most every time I watch him.  Today was no exception.  Listening to his long explanation of how he is such a great fan of girl's hockey made me want to puke.  He droned on about how much he supports the Olympic girl's players and how much they like him.  God help me.  Do we really have to have this discussion again?  Does Hayley Wickenheiser still not merit the respect of being referred to as a woman and not a girl?  As offensive as that was, it was not what bothered me most.

Olympic Women's Hockey has only ever seen two teams in the final - Canada and the U.S.  Needless to say there is a long history of rivalry between them.  Ron McLean made the point today that we probably wouldn't want to see anyone else play that final game.  Wrong Ron.  I'd love to see someone else play that final game against Canada.  I'd love to have seen the Russians or the Swedes or the Finns.  Maybe if they had been the competitors against Canada today, things wouldn't have felt so mean.

In 2002, a story circulated that the U.S. Women's Hockey Team had placed a Canadian flag on the floor of their dressing room, essentially using it as a doormat.  When the story broke to the Canadian team during an intermission at the gold medal game, the Canadian team was apoplectic.  They channeled that ire into a gold medal victory.  Haley Wickenheiser went on the air after the game and told the world about what the U.S. team had done.  She offered to sign the doormat flag for them.  In time it became known that the story wasn't true.  Apologies were made.  We all moved on - until this afternoon when once again the CBC commentators repeated the story and showed the clips, as if it had been true.  Suppose it was true, other than causing animosity and anger between Canadians and Americans, what purpose could possibly have been served by repeating the story twelve years later.  Why can't we just move on?  In this crazy world, our neighbors to the south are our best friends and greatest allies.  Spewing such vitriol in what is essentially a sibling rivalry makes no sense to me.  We won the game today.  It could just have easily gone the other way.  We are winners.  So is the American team.  All the athletes deserve our respect.  Shame on you CBC for suggesting otherwise.