10.....10.....5
Yeah! That is what Canada won:
10 Gold Medals...10
Silver Medals...5 Bronze Medals.
We ranked 3rd among
88 competing countries!
For 17 days, it is certain
millions of viewers were glued to their televisions. Selectively, I watched several events. The coverage by CBC was superb with camera
presentations, commentaries, those who “called the games”, and interviewers. Geographically, we were given pictorial views
of Sochie's location beside the Black Sea and the Caucasus
Mountains (a few miles away...home to snow events).
Although not an avid hockey fan,
the event exciting me the most was our Canadian Women's Hockey Team game versus
U.S in the semi-final round…it was a “cliff-hanger”, then winning the Gold
Medal Game versus Sweden. A parallel event was our Canadian Men’s Hockey Team
winning the Gold Medal. Our teams were relentless with their speed, their skills
and their team-effort determination from the first drop of the puck to the
final bell. .
Mike Babcock, coach
of the Men's Team stated:
“When the opportunity
was the greatest, the best players delivered.
Team Canada had to
be equal to this great opportunity!”
Locally, we were
fortunate to have about half-dozen
athletes
from The Golden Horseshoe competing in the
Winter Games!
Several new sports were added to
the usual agenda...the Team Ice Skating event with 10 countries participating
and Snowboarding events that were not only thrilling, but full of dare,
gymnastics and expertise while soaring through the air. WOW !
Advertisements from Sponsors & Supporters
These were well worth watching
(as in the American Super Bowl). Most
were philosophically motivating with
positive values for us at home. The 10
largest Corporate Sponsors were: Coca-Cola, McDonald's, GE, Proctor &
Gamble, Visa, Samsung, Panasonic, Omega, Dow Chemical and a French company
Atos. Only four of these did I see here on Canadian Television. Here are those that captured my attention.
RBC: Anything is possible. Your
sometime...is here! Proud supporter of Canada's
Olympic Teams since 1947.
Petro-Canada: Fueling the Dream! A relentless passion to break new ground to
define possibilities.
Canadian Tire: We Play for Canada! (Delightfully and excitingly sung by
children’s choir)
Sport Check: What IT Takes! Better Starts Here.
Chevrolet: Find NEW Roads!
Air Canada: The
Official Airline of the Canadian Olympic and Para-Olympic Games.
McDonald's: We know the
importance of togetherness.
Home Depot: The First Step? Believing!
Visa: Everywhere You Want to Be.
Other brief ads by: Samsung,
Coca-Cola, Government of Canada, Bell,
Tide.
Profound messages from a few other sponsors whose company names I didn't
catch:
The Pursuit of Excellence…is Universal.
The Power of Achievement...is INFINITE.
Staying on Top means you have to make Tough Choices!
The Closing Ceremonies
Impressive Comments
and Facts
“Peace, Tolerance and
Respect was exhibited among all the Athletes”
“This is my Russia…our New
Russia with a New Face to t he World.”
Steve Podborski ~
“Chef de Mission” for Canada’s
221 competing athletes stated,
“When any of our competitors get broken... they get
fixed…and they get back up!”
Of Interest: Steve Podborski, born in Toronto, Ontario
started skiing at age 2 ½ at Craigleith, near Collingwood. He won 8 World cup downhill races. He retired following the 1984 season at age
26. In 1982, he was made an Officer of
the Order of Canada and
inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985, Canada’s Sports
Hall of Fame in 1987, the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1988 and Ontario Sports
Hall of Fame in 2004. Steve was on the
bid committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia…responsible
for international relations.
Four athletes were
honoured for multiple medals at the Olympic Winter Games.
Haley Wickenheiser, Canadian Women’s Hockey Team,
has won 4 Gold Medals
and 1 Silver Medal.
She was named twice
as MVP.
On February 20, 2014,
Haley was elected to
The International Olympic Committee’s Athlete Commission.
Tribute was paid to Russia’s
classical arts: music, dance and opera.
Four flag poles stood tall in the
vast arena. One was flag-masted with the
Olympic five rings. The second was Russia’s flag of horizontal blue,
red and white stripes. The third pole
displayed the flag of Greece
~ honouring the First Olympic Games held
in 1896. The fourth flag was that of South Korea
where the Olympic Winter Games will be held in 2018 (February 9-25). The Olympic flag was passed from Sochi, Russia
to the Mayor of Pyeongchang, South Korea…a
city of approximately 44,000 people and located in the Taebaek Mountains. The theme for these Olympics is…New Horizons.
The Olympic Flame
You may recall the three Russian
mascots: the snow leopard (an
endangered specie)…the Arctic (or mountain)
hare…and the polar bear…each possessing characteristics of
speed, strength and agility (along with wintery aspects). These loveable mascots bade “farewell" with
the waving of their paws and with tears spilling from their eyes). The giant polar bear…blew out the flame. Fireworks exploded in an enormous display,
including bursts of the 5 Olympic rings…while
millions of people around the world watched.
The night view of Sochi beside the Black Sea became an enticing “fairyland resort” of twinkling
colourful lights, dramatic fireworks and stars in the midnight sky.
Scott Russell of CBC commented,
“Both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies have been Grandiose!
It’s been the Disneyland of
the Olympics!”
There is no such thing as an “unassisted goal”.
Parents, grand parents, car -pool drivers, trainers, coaches,
numerous competitions, sports psychologists and funding ~
all play “an assist” in the game of sport.
(Message from Canadian Tire)
Compiled by Merle Baird-Kerr…February 24. 2014
To comment, e-mail
to…inezkate@gmail.com or mbairdkerr@cogeco.ca
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