2010: An Opport(unity)

From the June edition of Mayday

2010: An Opport(unity)

By: Daniel Clark

With the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games just around the corner, the country will be gearing up in anticipation for one of the most prestigious and popular events in today’s society. Over the years, the Olympic games and other international sporting events have not only served us several weeks of relentless entertainment, but also a chance for Canadians to (if only for a short time) put aside their opinions and grievances, and focus their thoughts toward a collective goal: the support of Canadian athletes and Canadian success.

Let us think back to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games; the women’s ice hockey team had just captured gold by defeating the United States 3-2, and now the men’s ice hockey team was next in line to capture a gold medal of their own in a final showdown with (you guessed it) the men’s US hockey team. Watching the game at home in my living room, I noticed the CBC was broadcasting images from the main streets in cities across the nation, and the most memorable thing to come from those images was the fact that the streets were completely deserted. Literally, the normally bustling Young Street in Toronto was empty as if everyone in town had disappeared. Across the map, the streets from Victoria to Halifax were empty. All Canadians, from the Tim Horton’s employee to the Prime Minister, were glued to their televisions as we watched Canada defeat the Americans 5-2, winning their first gold medal in roughly 50 years.

When the final buzzer sounded, people came flowing out from the bars and onto the streets in celebration. It was a beautiful sight, people on top of cars, waving their flags and cheering, it was the first time I had seen anything remotely close to this. Many journalists, sports analysts and broadcasters said it was like a replay of the notorious 1972 Summit Series. Not even on Canada Day have I seen such a strong display of nationalism. The political fine line which divides Canadians on a nearly 365 day basis was washed away. It didn’t matter whether you would be supporting the Liberals, Conservatives or NDP in the next election, a collective Canadian conscience had been tapped. It was nice to get a break from the talking heads in Parliament and focus on something that everyone agreed on, because in all honestly, it’s not often that happens. But that’s one of the great things about sport, it’s border less. It doesn’t know creed, religion or sex and the 2010 Games will present Canada another golden opportunity to truly become a collective country…even for just a short while.