i LOVE canadian athletes!

so my prediction from the other day didn't come true... canadian athletes raked in 7 medals over the weekend! still less than michael phelps' gold medal count but still impressive i guess... and that poor girl in the triathlon who broke her arm! she should get a medal just for that!

anyhoo... i did get some flack for not appearing not to support our canadian athletes so i thought i'd take the time to address that.

comment from anonymous:
Realistically, to be placed 10th in the world is still quite the accomplishment. You must give credit to the athletes. So they aren't placing in the top 3, but to hear all the gloom and doom from everyone back home when they are setting multiple Canadian records must be disheartening. I think our country needs to stand more behind their athletes, despite of how they place.
Its hard to believe that the USA/Chinese athletes can still compete in the Olympics. The Olympics are supposed to be about amateur athletes and, especially the Chinese, there is nothing amateur about them. They train full time their entire lives for this event.

first off - there's nothing amateur about any of these athletes... no normal people can do what these athletes do. it's like saying golfing is only a hobby for tiger woods. but in events like tennis, basketball, hockey, even ice skating - they all get paid to do what they do (the definition of being a 'professional' in my mind) and then suddenly when olympic time comes around they can all magically suspend their pro status. i don't get the rules on the amateur status deal... seems very fishy to me.

overall, i'm not saying we shouldn't support our athletes or that the support they're getting this year isn't... uninspiring. i'm trying to point out what little support they do get. when american athletes come home, they're treated like celebrities and celebrated in the media and can pretty much live off endorsements if they've medaled. when canadian athletes come home, they get a tip of the hat and then it's back to whatever they were doing before.
if we came back with no medals this year, there would have to be some serious thought put into how we train and support our athletes... now that we have some under our belts, the excuses can flow freely - poor air quality this, injuries that... next time we'll be more prepared!
having a low medal count can be excused away much easier than a zero medal tally.

tangent! don't you just love the canadian reporters? "you've just finished 4th, mere thousandths of a second away from medalling... how disappointing is this crushing blow? what do you want to say to the folks at home?" yeah, rub it in a little more... right when they probably don't want to talk to anyone, make them talk to the whole country! kudos to the athletes for being so congenial.

bah! work has made me lose my train of thought... i won't make you suffer through any more incoherent rambling. hopefully i got my point across.