Do You Still Believe?

For months and months now, we've been inundated by the message.
Canada, we've been told, wants to 'own the podium' at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. As in, top the medal table for the first time in the long and storied history of the Winter Games.
We were third behind Germany and the United States four years ago at the 2006 Turin Olympics in terms of total medals. Backed by a massive influx of cash — and an investment in the best in sports sciences — the stage was set for the red maple leaf to rise to the top.
'Do You Believe?' screamed the message at the heart of a relentless marketing campaign by Canada's Olympic broadcast media consortium that seems never ending.
Less than a week into Vancouver 2010, however, it seems the grand plan has gone off the rails. The U.S. is off to an astounding start in these Games and, heading into Friday night's competitions, held a wide 20-7 edge in the medal count over our gang. Even the Canadian Olympic Committee, which has spoke often about our second-week potential in medals, is beginning to admit the two-touchdown deficit might be too much to overcome.
"It's going to be tough," COC boss Chris Rudge conceded in a Toronto Star report today, adding the Americans are "way ahead" of projections.
Rudge seemed to be laying the groundwork for such sentiment a day earlier, when he told Sun Media that owning the podium was merely "a goal" for the Canadian team, not a declaration or prediction that it was actually going to happen.
“Nobody ever said we ARE going to be No.1,” said Rudge in doing his best word dance. “We put that out as a goal and objective. Is the sky going to fall if we don’t? I don’t think so.”
Don't tell that to the athletes, who very much want to put on a great show in front of wildly supportive Canadian fans. Check out this line from Canada's Mellisa Hollingsworth. After flaming out on her final skeleton run when a medal was in her grasp, the teary-eyed Albertan told CTV's Farhan Lalji "I feel like I let the entire country down."
Yep, this is serious business for our athletes, folks. And while Hollingsworth is probably beating herself up too much by saying that, I think most Canadians would agree they like the aggressive attitude our gang has brought to Vancouver. As un-Canadian as it might sound, there's nothing wrong with saying we're here to win, is there?
Meanwhile, the Americans' stunning showing at these Games — they've absolutely cleaned up in the alpine events at Whistler — is a testament to the legacy of Salt Lake City 2002. The U.S. decided it wanted to be a winter sports powerhouse heading into its "home games" and the athletes continue to reap the benefits of that major investment.
The question is, will Canada's finest enjoy the same windfall at Sochi 2014 and beyond? Two Games past Salt Lake, the stars and stripes are still rolling and showing no signs of slowing down. But there is great uncertainty about Canada's future beyond Vancouver.
Already, there is real apprehension — even outright fear — about what lies ahead for our winter athletes. Own The Podium shuts down after these Games and the federal government has yet to guarantee it'll make up the shortfall created by the loss of those significant funds.
All of which makes one wonder: Was Own The Podium about looking good on home soil or laying the base for winter sports dominance going forward? The Americans are showing what can be done by using a home games as a springboard. If we don't do the same, it's opportunity lost.
An opportunity, it says here, that will be gone and lost forever.
So the question remains: Do you believe?