HOLLY WEST
SPORTS EDITOR

With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! – Oh Canada, I love thee so.
Walking down the streets of Vancouver during the beginning days of the Olympic Games made me feel more than a kinship with my fellow countrymen, clad in varying shades of red and white; I felt the Canadian swagger.  We want to win.
This is the Olympics. In our country. In our North American sized rinks. We have all the makings of “Owning the Podium” – and yet we don’t. There has been a lot of pressure to live up to the ideal that we Canucks will somehow become the phoenix rising out of the ashes and take all.
I love my nation; I respect and admire these amateur athletes. Yet just because there is a program called Own the Podium does not make it so. Yes, the five-year initiative has thrust around $118 million into the fight for medals – with a very un-Canadian focus not on all athletes but on those most likely to finish well – and yes, there was the home court advantage of more time spent familiarizing themselves with the facilities but it isn’t magic.
We are a nation of just over 34 million versus the staggering US population of more than 315 million and we don’t have the same economic powers but we are hanging in there and holding our own. The medal standings don’t show us having one tenth the medals won by Americans, but a respectable top five placement.  Per capita, we are winning more medals.
Some athletes have taken to the media and apologized to the nation for their lack of a medal. Mellisa Hollingsworth gave an emotional and heartbreaking apology after placing fifth overall in women’s skeleton. She had her best starting time and is one of the best in the world and she apologized for that?!  I understand sport is cut throat. There are winners and losers, and at this level of competition the stakes are higher. But remember that no Canadian has won a gold on home turf before these Olympics and that the games aren’t over yet.
We should all still be screaming “Go Canada Go!” and watching game coverage on loop while beaming with pride. Our athletes are doing us proud, they are among the best – can you say the same? Get on board and show some support.