Defining Moment Day 9

 

Moan the Podium.

Make no mistake, there have been some golden Canadian moments delivered at these Winter Games.

And believe me – there will be more to come.

I promise.

Geez, I sound like someone from the Canadian Olympic Committee.

But, there is no way around it – Canada’s Own the Podium program has backfired so far.

it’s not that OTP was not a good idea. In fact, it’s something that should have been constructed years ago.

Let’s hope it’s something they’ll continue to maintain . A country’s sports program is a reflection of it’s commitment to it’s health system. More sport means more kids getting a chance to get hooked on something that could make them a champion. 

Why not put more  money into our summer and  winter sports?
Why not push our athletes?
Why not create a culture of winning? 

We’ve never done that in Canada with the one exception of the game that runs through our veins – hockey.

Do the math.

Eight medals after nine days.

Outstanding…if you’re Estonia.

But this is Canada and these were supposed to be our Games. And even though many of these sports are disciplines we discover and re-discover every four years-the Canadian public has been duped into “believing” that we would run away with everything.

34- maybe 35 medals- they said before the Winter Olympics. A gold rush in Vancouver, they said.

They should have shut up when they had a chance.

There is nothing wrong with making projections or predictions – hey we all do it. (At this point, I’m predicting a gold medal for the maids at the hotel who have to clean my room)

However when you are the creators of an unrealistic mantra and you start to predict – you also promise

And when promises go unfulfilled – expect a backlash.

I don’t blame the athletes.

I blame the hype machine.

Every member of Team Canada has come here hoping for the moment of his or her life.

Every athlete, especially those in the strongest positions have been helped out financially on the road to Vancouver.

Every athlete has been given everything they need to excel.

But it’s not as simple as dreaming or believing.

This is sport. There are other athletes from other countries who think exactly the same way.

You don’t think the USA or Germany – who’ve always had strong athletic programs – haven’t devised their own “Own the Podium”?

It’s called a plan.

Like OTP – it’s meant to put their countries in the best possible position to be successful.

They just don’t brag about it.

Or call it Own the Podium.

You might be thinking these are built in excuses for Canada’s underwhelming medal collection so far.

But it’s reality.

A lot of people – from the COC (why don’t they change that handle?) and the mainstream media sipped this Koolaid from the beginning but they were all treating the medal possibilities like a math problem.

They looked at World Cup and World Championship projections – they looked at how athletes were doing last year instead of this year and when they did – they heaped some unfair expectations on a lot of these kids.

Suddenly instead of merely being a contender – Canadian athletes were told they were favored to win.

That they were going to win.

And when that happens you start being afraid to lose.

We’ve all had it happen to us at one time in our life. 

Perfect example is short-track speed skater Charles Hamelin who came into Vancouver as the poster boy for Team Canada.

He was projected to be one of the favorites to win Canada’s first gold medal on home soil. The press printed it, cyberspace texted it, our booming CTV voice over guy bellowed it.

But what everyone outside his sport failed to realize – was that the 1500 wasn’t his distance. They did the math but used the wrong numbers and came up with gold. He didn’t even make the final.

So – with the golden gorilla hunched on his back  – Charles went to the line in the 1000 with a much better chance in a more suited distance.

With his brother Francois beside him in the final, Charles looked calm, composed and loose at the start line.

But then the brothers Hamelin did something that we all do when we face a certain amount of pressure – they tried too hard.

They went out too quick. Too fast. A terrible tactical move for skaters who are better sprinters than distance guys.

Their strategy failed miserably.. 

They faded and finished OTP.

Off the Podium.

The good news is that they still have a medal shot in the sprints next week. Problem is that the gorilla will have grown to King Kong and anything short of gold will be treated as a failure.

Fair? Maybe not but a lot of Canadians will say, “hey we throw our tax money at these athletes – so stop whining and start winning”.

I understand their frustration and maybe even their rationale.

I just don’t believe in throwing the athletes under the bus.

Is it any coincidence that many of our most over-promoted athletes have underachieved here?

Patrick Chan, Jeremy Wotherspoon,  Mellissa Hollingswoth, and  keep going down the list.

All had come to Vancouver with gold in their eyes. They were already stars on TV commercials. Most retained personal agents. All had been pumped up by the media and Own the Podium.

Great people, great athletes, but greater expectations..

They just didn’t win.

That’s sport.

Happens at every Olympics.

You can’t write the ending before it happens.

You can’t predict a promise.

You can’t own a podium.

Unless you’re prepared to walk your talk.

Advertisement