Columnist likens Vancouver Olympics to 1936

I personally don't think he made any valid points at all.

I think we were supposed to feel shame over some of the things he said. Unfortunately for his premise, they're actually things of which I'm quite proud.

What's dark about that? We wanted to be the best, and we announced it in advance. "Faster, Higher, Stronger" is still the Olympic motto, after all. Or are we just supposed to stick to LeBreton's idea of what Canada's motto should be - "Just Happy To Be Here." Or, perhaps, "As Fast, High And Strong As Possible, If It's Okay With Everybody Else." Yeah, well, fuck that. And fuck the inferiority complex. We are as good as anybody else.....and better than most, as the medal standings have proved.

Nope. Next.

So what? There were no riots (other than the douchebag protestors on the first day), no incidents of violence. It was a party, and a damned good one, from all lucid accounts. A two-week tailgate, someone called it. I'd love to have gotten hammered there.

It's about time we demonstrated the kind of patriotism that countries like the United States take for granted. We have a lot to be proud of and grateful for in Canada.

We were thinking of ourselves for a change. It's a nice thing. There's nothing wrong with being selfish once in a while. If you don't think about yourself from time to time, why should anybody else think about you?

Fail. What you thought you knew is a cliche, and we're sick of it, and of being patronized.

Do we recognize ourselves? You're goddamned right.....and we like what we see.

 

What a putrid, pathetic piece of tripe.

 

Some funny stuff on Twitter: Crosby's give-and-go gold medal clinching goal was eerily reminiscent of the invasion of Poland.

 

Exactly. I think every Nazi analogy I've seen in years has been a bad idea. Just don't do them.

The guy wanted to write a column about the excess nationalism at these olympics compared to others--a valid topic--but using 1936 as the vehicle was idiocy. He might've looked closer to home for a more apt comparison, I recall once reading an outstanding Frank Deford column denouncing the tasteless flag waiving and overbearing "U.S.A." chants at the 84 LA games. He made the point far more eloquently than this guy.

 

Heil, Harper!

 

Hey, give Gil a break, Marge Schott says.

In 1936 Hitler wasn't bad. That was before he went too far.

 

I've always admired the American sense of patriotism. These two weeks -- and perhaps the latter part of September, 1972 when Canada was mounting its comeback in the Summit Series -- were as close as I have ever seen Canada come to duplicating it.
I see nothing wrong with acknowledging and celebrating the great nation we have. We don't do it enough. Was the coverage "Canadian-centric" -- certainly it was. It was giving the people what they wanted.
Yes, I got tired of CTV's endless self-promotion; of the "I Believe" jingle, of Brian Williamzzzzz. I didn't like commentators falling off the bandwagon when the men's hockey team lost to the U.S. in the preliminary round and climbing back on when they won.
But am I upset that they showed Alexandre Bilodeau's wide-eyed wonder when he won a gold in men's moguls, or his disabled brother cheering in the front row? Did it bother me that they respected figure skater Joannie Rochette's privacy the day her mom died and the day after and blatantly admired her courage in skating to a bronze medal in the days that followed?
Not a goddamn bit.
As has been said already, we have a lot to be proud of in Canada. If sports is the vehicle that allows us to demonstrate that and to educate other people to that, I'm OK with that.

 

I'm assuming this was a real column and not a blog.

How this piece of silliness got by an editor is beyond me .

 

Yeah, um....no.

 

So, if I read correctly, this guy was upset with Canadian TV showing sports featuring ... Canadian athletes?
Sounds like the same kind of mo-mo who incessantly writes columns about NFL teams at the Podunk Press.

 

YOU ONLY COVER US WHEN WE'RE BEING NATIONALISTIC NUTCASES! EH?