A Golden Games ... Or Game?

No doubt, you've long ago heard about Canada's master plan to top the medals table at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Own The Podium, the program is called, and that dream finish is also front and centre in the CTV/Rogers Olympic Broadcast Consortium's series of 'Do You Believe?' commercials that are becoming more and more prevalent on the likes of CTV, TSN and Rogers Sportsnet, to name a few (you'd have to be living under a rock to have not seen it by now).
Those of us who follow amateur sport with some regularity don't believe the thought is overly audacious. Even the U.S.-based Associated Press is picking us to win 29 medals (including 15 golds) in Vancouver — the same total that put Germany on top of the medal count at Torino 2006.
But Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber brought up a rather interesting (and, it says here, valid) point about owning the podium earlier today on TSN's The Sports Reporters with Dave Hodge. He related a conversation he had a few months back with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who expressed concern that many Canadians' view of the success (or failure) of the Vancouver Games will be largely based on the result of the gold-medal game in men's hockey.
Sound a little far-fetched? Guess again.
I've thought for the longest time that if Canada won only two medals in Vancouver — gold in men's and women's hockey — a vast number of people in this country would consider these Games a raging success. By extension, it would also mean that 29 medals won't mean a hoot to plenty of folks if it doesn't include men's hockey gold.
Yes, I'm dead serious.
All of which means that there are lots of people in our country who need an epic reality check. Yes, we're a hockey-mad nation that is outrageously protective of 'our game' and the belief that we should win gold in every major hockey tournament at any level.
But long before the the men's hockey gold-medal game is played Feb. 28, I hope to be cheering on a whole bunch of Canadians to medal-winning performances in a wide array of sports. That's the magic of the Olympics and why it's the planet's greatest five-ring sporting circus.
Turning all these other wonderful sports and athletes (many of which only get noticed once every four years) into a mere side show for a hockey tournament misses that point — not to mention what has the potential to be Canada's finest hour on the Olympic stage.
Let's not let one hockey result (good or bad) lessen any of that.
*****
This deserved mention on Friday, but good on the Canadian Olympic Committee for its selection of speed skater Clara Hughes as our flagbearer for the opening ceremony on Feb. 12 at B.C. Place. By all accounts, this is a young woman that embodies everything about the Olympic spirit, both on the playing field (ice?) and off it.
Ask me about my favourite Torino 2006 memories and I can still vividly recall Hughes' dramatic dash to gold in the women's 5,000 metres event — an effort that left the Winnipeg native sobbing with joy and exhaustion afterward.
Still gives me the chills even thinking about it four years later.

Our Games, Our Time ... Finally!

First, a confession.
Hell yeah, I'd rather be in Vancouver. I'd love to be in beautiful British Columbia — in one of the world's most stunning cities — to help roll out the red carpet for the rest of the world.
Damn right it pains me to hear so many folks I know talk about the dream of the lifetime they can't wait to embrace when they head west in a few short weeks to be a part of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics ... while I know I'm resigned (like so many millions of others) to watching the biggest sporting show we may ever seen in our fair land on a television screen (hey, at least it's high-def, which is the only way to go).
So close and yet so far, as the old saying goes.
But with no ticket to ride, I'll do my level best to capture the spirit of the first Olympics on Canadian soil in 22 years. The torch relay? Been there, seen that, felt that (actually, covered that emotional moment for OttawaSenators.com, the home of my day job).
Those Petro-Canada Olympic glasses? Got a full set of them, too.
Red mittens? You betcha.
(see the accompanying photo if you don't believe me. Admittedly, those ones were borrowed ... though I assure you I have my own).
Point being, just because you're not there doesn't mean you can't experience — or feel — the spirit of Vancouver 2010 wherever you are. Rest assured, Canada, no matter how far away you are, our Olympians will hear your cheers during what figure to be 16 extraordinary days.
Whether it's in front of your TV (which hopefully is HD) or in front of your computer, every second of these Games will be available to most every Canadian (more on that a little later). Further proof that the world has indeed changed since Calgary 1988.
Whether it's through this blog or on the accompanying Twitter feed, hope you'll find some time to join us on an Olympic journey right here. As always, we'll have plenty to say about what we see ... even if we're not exactly there. Promise we won't mope too much.