Our national pride run rampant during Vancouver’s Olympic Games. Chants of ‘Go Canada, Go!’ and impromptu performances of  O Canada were frequent as our televisions stayed tuned to coverage of the Games. For 17 days and 26 medals, we were transfixed. Bursting with pride  we waved our flags and red mitten-clad hands.
Now in the wave of post-Olympic glory, we should not let our excitement of being Canadian wash away as easily as those temporary Maple Leaf tattoos. The Paralympics are just around the corner. Let’s keep this party—and our national pride—going.
The 55 athletes representing Canada at this year’s Games train just as hard and achieve the same greatness as any other athlete. From ice sledge hockey to biathlon, the athletes train with dedication and overcome great adversity to get where they are and the Et Cetera feels the Paralympics deserves more attention, respect and coverage.
The Paralympic Games first took place in 1948 when Dr. Ludwig Guttman organized a sports competition for injured World War II veterans from London during the London Summer Games. Four years later the Netherlands joined and an international movement began.
Today the Paralympic Games includes sports events for physically disabled or visually impaired athletes. And this year, from March 12 to 21, Vancouver will host 1,350 paralympic athletes from 44 countries across the globe. And yet we find nearly zero mention of the Paralympics in the media – even during coverage of the closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
The Paralympics — coming from the Greek word ‘para’ meaning beside—exists alongside the Olympics, but it seems to be more like an afterthought. Since its inauguration, the Paralympics have gotten a fraction of the coverage of the Olympic Games. Yet this year’s coverage is better than most.  CTVglobemedia Inc. and Rogers Media Inc., the official broadcasters of the Winter Games, have committed to 50 hours of coverage for the Paralympic Games, an astonishing 40 hours more coverage than the CBC gave in 2002  to the Salt Lake City Paralympics. Yet still a far cry from the coverage the Olympics garnered.
For more than two weeks in February, from the front pages of newspapers to Facebook status updates and endless coverage on TV, the Olympics were everywhere.
Even our own prime minister put work on hold to avoid political controversy during the Olympics. Yesterday, with the Paralympics still eight days away, the politicians went back to work.
Let’s make sure we do not  tuck away our red mitts as prematurely.
Oh Canada, do not stop cheering.

1. 

   Paralympic Supporter

   March 4, 2010 at 6:33 pm

   The Paralympic Torch relay is underway and shamefully neither HBC nor VANOC is selling the red Paralympic Torch relay mittens like the Paralympic torch bearers are wearing–the Paralympic symbol is on the back of them rather than the Olympic symbol. I am sure many Canadians and foreigners want to equally support Paralympic athletes–as they did with the Olympic athletes. I heard someone from HBC speak on CBC yesterday saying that spring is here and who would wear the mittens now? Frankly it may look like spring on the streets of Vancouver during the day, but it is still cold her at night. Also, leave town and you’ll find winter in full force in the rest of the province, the rest of Canada and many parts of the world. Perhaps spring is on its way here but international online customers in the southern hemisphere are heading into fall and winter. Also, has that HBC store rep ever gone camping in rainy. coastal or alpine BC in the summer? MEC sells mitts year round for campers. Surely HBC and VANOC can sell the Paralympic mitts so we can give equal support to the Paralympians.