The ratings just came in for broadcast of the 2012 Olympics and it seems that 99% of Canadians watched some portion of the Olympic games over the last two weeks.
99%!
This is incredible and possibly unprecedented.
Yes we won the most gold medals out of everyone…but I’m not sure that’s what’s going to stay with me these games.
It’s the display of everyday, street-level pride, so foreign to so many of us, that has me floored.
You may have noticed the die-hard patriots decked out in head-to-toe Canadiana on their way to work or shopping at the mall. But, to me, it was watching the most passive and unassuming Canadians rock their bright red Olympic mittens throughout the duration of the games that spoke volumes.
As the ‘best Olympic moment’ images played over and over again Sunday evening, I got this feeling in my chest of such pride. Did that woman really just score a medal after losing her mother? Is that a black woman with braids joining her teammates at the gold podium in bobsleigh? Is that man truly going to down that pitcher of beer right in front of the cameras? Well, of course he is because he is Canadian and so is the beer and to do anything else would be wasteful.
No matter how many times I hear that the Canadian identity cannot be captured in an ice floe and a toque, I know I caught a glimpse of what we all feel as members of this country this past weekend.
To commemorate the snow, the sun and the athletes who are bringing us all together we took Sidney out for his first ice skate Sunday afternoon. He reminded me of a doe who hadn’t found his legs yet. Lio brought a chair on the ice for him to lean on and ultimately push. In the end, he really just ended up getting a 45 minute piggy back ride from Daddy.
Did he enjoy it? Yes!
Did we enjoy watching him enjoy it? Yes!
Did we officially induct our boy into the mythic Canadian world of ice hockey, tundra and toques? Absolutely.
And this is just the beginning.
Congratulations Canada.
We should be proud.