now *this* is amateur competition

I just saw Stephen Harper congratulate the Canadian team for their contribution to the country. He talked about how their acheivements have shown to the world how Canada supports exceptional individuals and help them reach their dreams.

Really?

My impression of the games was that Canadian women have fantastic opportunities if they choose a career in sports. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of downplaying their success, but rather, just put to light that maybe Canada did well because more women are in the system to challenge, coach and choose from. Honestly, the men did equally as pathetic as they have in past olympics. Had it not been for the women, we would've been very low in the medal standings - which brings me to my other question:

Who cares? A nation is judged by the number of medals it wins?

You have to got to be kidding. When we were in school there were always those really smart kids who would get all the attention from school; the school would use them to sell themselves. But the truth is, they were smart before they attended McGill; I seriously doubt McGill had any major impact in them becoming a nobel prize winner or what not. This is another messy debate but, to me, athletes are born. The average person can work really really hard and get to an elite level - but those who win, those world champions are genetically pre-disposed to it; I think. Bringing out these freaks and teaching them to reach their potential is another story but overall I think it has nothing to do with a country. Heck, people switch nationalities all the time: case in point: Dale Begg-Smith.

***** ***** *****

Its pretty pathetic how major networks cover the olympics all day, everyday yet we barely hear anything about the paralympics. I saw a piece on cbc about this guy, Daniel Wesley. Holy crap he's amazing. The guy uses his torso on one ski and flies. He also designs his own equipment. I would really like to see more coverage of these paralympic games; knowing that Canada will do well since outside of Quebec, the disabled seem to have more opportunites in our country as our women do.