NF I really dont care?????

[holdfast]

Hey the Olympics are on!!!!!!!!!! So as a proud Canadian I have to say that I am embarrassed of our attempts at the summer games. Lets see, hey we have no medals. We are not even a threat. So whats our problem. Don't blame the Government and Don't blame the Athletes. And don't use the Excuse that Canada is a small Country. Any Opinions on our poor showings in the Olympics since the Late Sixties. Curious on what you think. Do ya think international soccer might be more popular than our Pride in the Olympics?

[blarg]

yea its a little sad, i think the sysytem jsut isn't demanding enough and probably not supportive enough at the same time, we shouldn't be sending people with no shot at even a top 10. You always hear the argument, well its a young team, wait til the next olympics, well thats Bull, as if the americans, aussies chinese russians etc etc etc arent going to have good atheletes next time around.

[trophypikehunter]

If only fishing was an Olympic sport

[Greencoachdog]

... well if your athletes wouldn't drink a 2-4 before every match....

 

 

 

 

... but if they ever make beer drinking an Olympic sport!

 

 

 

... y'all will be gold!

Edited August 11, 2008 by Greencoachdog

[Grimace]

I am somewhat disappointed with the Olympic showings in the past. At the same time we should be proud of our athletes and not bash them. Kind of like the way we support our troops Holdfast. Some people make fun and say our Military is a joke as well. I disagree with them also.

[jediangler]

Save your disappointment for when we host the winter olympics in Whistler/Vancouver. It will probably be the poorest showing of an olympic host ever.

[Garyv]

Could it be that Canada is spending money, time and energy saving the world, but nothing to help our own people ( in this case athletes ) in our own country? My problem is I think charity begins at home. Once you take care of your own then your in a position to help others.

Edited August 12, 2008 by Garyv

[JohnF]

Could it be that Canada is spending money, time and energy saving the world, but nothing to help our own people ( in this case athletes ) in our own country? My problem is I think charity begins at home. Once you take care of your own then your in a position to help others.

 

Or perhaps it's even more fundamental than that. If you consider that Canada has 1/10 the population of the US and a relatively expensive infrastructure due to extremes of weather, geographic size, etc. and a smaller industrial base then it's understandable that Canada doesn't have the big bux to throw at amateur athletics. Then you've got the university athletic scholarship/development system in the States with huge alumni support.

 

We've got a lot of different sports here in Canada with their hands out, summer and winter, and the keepers of the vault keys have to be careful not to favour one sport over another, even hockey. So at the end of the day none of our amateur athletes get the kind of support they need to compete with the big bux and sophisticated development systems of other countries. Many countries are either summer or winter sports oriented, and then there are those that simply select the sports that will get the lion's share of the support funding.

 

Canada's trying to be too many things to too many people, to compete in too many sports with too few dollars to go around. It's no one's fault really. What's a common observation these days? That the top Canadian athletes can set new national records and still not be in the same class as the powerhouse countries' athletes. The gov't tried a few years back to focus on the top contenders but that raised the ire of too many, probably in no small part due to typical gov't mishandling.

 

Seems to me what Canadian athletes need are for some major sponsors to select a few individual sports to which to direct their support dollars. It means that some sports will come up empty-handed but others might just get the necessary funding to run proper training and development programs.

 

I sure wouldn't want to be the person or persons deciding which sports and athletes would get the lion's share of the funding to the exclusion of all others but it's probably the only way canada will ever get the kind of medal results we want to see.

 

JF

[kickingfrog]

Good, don't block my view of the tv.

[Stoty]

Don't worry...we will win Gold yet again in Hockey at the 2010 games.....then all is well again!

[kickingfrog]

Don't worry...we will win Gold yet again in Hockey at the 2010 games.....then all is well again!

 

Canada lost to Australia in hockey... field hockey. Those Auzzies are goons.

[cpguy29]

Oh well, at least we have the best fishing in the world here in Canada

[BillM]

What do people expect from a country that puts sports on the bottom of the list. Look at the way kids are brought up here, compared to the US. Simon Frasier is the only college in Canada that gives out athletic scholarships, this is just because they are apart of a the NCAA conference, or else they wouldn't either. Kids in the US are groomed from a very young age, baseball, football, etc etc are huge deals down there compared to here. So much more emphasis on sports in the US and other countries compared to Canada..

 

I'm not complaining, I am happy we whip people at hockey all the time. Although it would be nice to see another Ben Johnson or Donovan Bailey rocket down the 100m and lay a beat down on the rest of the world.

[Leecher]

It's been disapointing so far.....and did not expect this result from our atheletes thus far.....but we will win medals....just a matter of time.

 

Leechman

[holdfast]

I am somewhat disappointed with the Olympic showings in the past. At the same time we should be proud of our athletes and not bash them. Kind of like the way we support our troops Holdfast. Some people make fun and say our Military is a joke as well. I disagree with them also.

 

I absolutely never bashed the athletes, as a matter of fact I said dont blame them. Wake up.

[Stoty]

Field hockey vs ice hockey.........cant really compare the two.

[holdfast]

What do people expect from a country that puts sports on the bottom of the list. Look at the way kids are brought up here, compared to the US. Simon Frasier is the only college in Canada that gives out athletic scholarships, this is just because they are apart of a the NCAA conference, or else they wouldn't either. Kids in the US are groomed from a very young age, baseball, football, etc etc are huge deals down there compared to here. So much more emphasis on sports in the US and other countries compared to Canada..

 

I'm not complaining, I am happy we whip people at hockey all the time. Although it would be nice to see another Ben Johnson or Donovan Bailey rocket down the 100m and lay a beat down on the rest of the world.

 

I think you hit it right on the nose. Its not the Government because they will not care because we don't care. ( otherwise you know they would make it an election program like that silly green platform because its more important on what light bulbs we should use) Its not the money, but its the system. Lets look at hockey, we have no problems sending little Johnny across the country to better his skills by playing on an elite team. However we will not send daughter Sue away for four months across the country to school to better her athletic skills and give her a scholarship if she is willing to put in the effort and excel. The Americans will train at least 5 days a week. We Canadians cannot get a kid to do 2 x 20 minute Physical fitness classes a week. As far as coaches if we don't have them we sure could import them. Instead we will import people that are running from something in which we loose anyhow in the big cities. My Gym Teacher in High School ( an Olympic Coach) immigrated to Canada and the school Sponsored him for his skills not his quality of life abroad). Are our Kids Soft. You Betcha they are. No football in High schools, no Rugby, no nothing because of insurance purposes or parents afraid of them getting hurt. But probably most importantly. No Body Cares. We have no Pride. We say its OK if we finish 15th at least we tried and are not last. Last thing, sure we had Ben Johnson, but we crucified him before the world did. We had Donovan Bailey, but where did they grow up. Not in Canada, because if they did, we'd never hear of them because they would not have the motivation or backing from us to win or train. Lets face it, soccer causes more of a stir, because its hip to be Proud of where you came from, then where you were welcomed. Before you young guys criticize me, I can tell you that our Physical training has deteriorated drastically since I was in school. We are a touchy, feely, touchy, Soft Nation of talkers and non do-ers. If South Korea can get medals and Australia, we should be able to. Ill just sit back like the Typical Canadian and say. I DONT CARE IF WE WIN, AS LONG AS WE TRIED, BECAUSE WINNING DOESNT MATTER.

Edited August 12, 2008 by holdfast

[charlied]

I watch the olympics to watch the elite of the elite...who cares if we win any medals. Just sit back and admire the talent the world has.

[camillj]

Well .. sorry ...but I say lets support our athletes period... there have been a LOT of personal bests and Canadian records - alot to be proud of... success isnt just measured at the podium .. but in the journey ... and I'd say we have a lot of great young athletes putting in their heart and souls ... too bad we can only support them if they win a medal ... these folks give many hours of the day for years to even be able to qualify at this level ...often with little or no funding .... sure its fabulous when they win - especially against the titans with deep pockets ... but winners arent just measured by the colour of their medals.

[holdfast]

Well .. sorry ...but I say lets support our athletes period... there have been a LOT of personal bests and Canadian records - alot to be proud of... success isnt just measured at the podium .. but in the journey ... and I'd say we have a lot of great young athletes putting in their heart and souls ... too bad we can only support them if they win a medal ... these folks give many hours of the day for years to even be able to qualify at this level ...often with little or no funding .... sure its fabulous when they win - especially against the titans with deep pockets ... but winners arent just measured by the colour of their medals.

[/quote

 

Oh Yes they are. Who are you Kidding, only a loser will settle for less. My point is that we should do better and except better. Not, that we are doing our best and that's good enough. I care, so I want our guys to win and step on that Podium. Trying is not good enough, you have to win for Glory and Pride. Hey we lost that hill in World War Two but at least we tried, or lets pull out of Afghanistan now , but at least we tried. Wrong winning attitude in my books.

Edited August 12, 2008 by holdfast

[ccmtcanada]

Well .. sorry ...but I say lets support our athletes period... there have been a LOT of personal bests and Canadian records - alot to be proud of... success isnt just measured at the podium .. but in the journey ... and I'd say we have a lot of great young athletes putting in their heart and souls ... too bad we can only support them if they win a medal ... these folks give many hours of the day for years to even be able to qualify at this level ...often with little or no funding .... sure its fabulous when they win - especially against the titans with deep pockets ... but winners arent just measured by the colour of their medals.

 

I agree with you camillj. I'm proud of each of our Olympians for competing on the world stage as the best Canada has to offer. Like you said, the funding isn't there...many of our athletes have jobs to help supplement their training and travelling. I dont think any of them are losers....they should all be commended for their dedication to sports. Some look at just medal count, other look at the personal sacrifices they have made to represent us there.

 

Like someone else has said, Canada is not set up for athletics....the money that the US pours into it at all levels of education is light years ahead of us. I suppose if we all agree to be taxed more, we could fund them. Or maybe those who feel strongly are already giving their hard earned money to support them.

[holdfast]

I agree with you camillj. I'm proud of each of our Olympians for competing on the world stage as the best Canada has to offer. Like you said, the funding isn't there...many of our athletes have jobs to help supplement their training and travelling. I dont think any of them are losers....they should all be commended for their dedication to sports. Some look at just medal count, other look at the personal sacrifices they have made to represent us there.

 

Like someone else has said, Canada is not set up for athletics....the money that the US pours into it at all levels of education is light years ahead of us. I suppose if we all agree to be taxed more, we could fund them. Or maybe those who feel strongly are already giving their hard earned money to support them.

 

 

Never said I was not proud of them or support them. I'm not looking at the athletes them selves ( not their fault if they cant compete on the world stage) which many of you are indicating. What I am saying is there is no reason why we should not have a medal or our best is two seconds from the worlds best. Don't focus on the athletes that compete today or past Olympics. Focus on why we are not contenders. Again don't blame the government because we are the ones that elect them. It is obvious that we don't care to win because we are just satisfied at , "At Least they are competing". Its OK that our one and only boxer got Beatup bad from some guy from an unknown country. Are you really satisfied and proud of that?? Really!!!! DAH ---- Cliff another tax is not the answer, as you know we are taxed more than the Americans, Koreans, Australians, Chinese, French, Germans, Norwegians, etc, etc. If we cared about Sports, Pride, and Fitness, just maybe we would take some money from somewhere spent now ( I got many Ideas where I could cut some useless expenditures IE free money to Quebec, Pensions to the Block, Possible Carbon Tax, MPs early Pension handouts, etc etc etc). I say our problem is the typical Canadian has no Pride, which includes being a winner in the Olympics.

Edited August 12, 2008 by holdfast

[goodtimer]

Obviously it would be great to see Canada pull in more medals...well at least one haha. But at the same time it makes watching our Canadian's that much more exciting. And when we do finally win one, we can feel extra proud with and for our athlete and country.

 

Plus it's just cool to see how truly amazing the athletes are. I love watching the Olympics (most events). Oh and field hockey is not ice hockey, whatsoever, not even comparable.

Edited August 12, 2008 by goodtimer