Okay, the Olympics are over, and I for one am amazed. Going in, I was not the biggest supporter of the Olympics, as I believed that there really was a better way to spend the money, especially in light of the recent events in Haiti and so forth. So I was not really prepared to spend countless hours in front of the TV watching the world compete.
I enjoyed coverage of all the Olympics, although I must admit that I avoided men's figure skating as much as possible - not that I don't think they're athletes or anything, just that their costumes don't leave a lot to the imagination. I watched more than my fair share of curling, bobsleigh and pairs figure skating, I almost lost my mind during the last 2 minutes of the semi final and final Men's hockey game, and I also shed a tear when Joannie Rochette skated for a bronze.
During the games, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Vancouver for company business. The nature of my business had me working odd hours, and as such, I was not able to enjoy the Olympics to the extent that I should have. I did, however, get a chance to walk around downtown Vancouver and get a picture of the flame. What stood out for me was a sea of Red, Yellow, Black, Green and Blue. Everyone dressed in some manner, sporting the Canada line from HBC. As an aside, the HBC store in downtown Vancouver had a separate area for this line, and you had to line up for 45 min to get into that area before buying stuff.
Canadian Pride. That's what I saw.
Once I noticed this, you couldn't walk 2 feet without seeing someone with a flag on their car, even the cab drivers were sporting Canada flags. Sure, there were other country supporters there too, and they were all sporting their particular brand of patriotic clothing, but for the most part - far and beyond, it was Canada all the way.
Buildings were decked out in Canadiana, flags hanging in windows of highrises, on balconies of conds. Little dogs were running around with Canadian sweaters.
Then I came back to Toronto. No flags on cars. Sure, there were people walking around in Canada gear, with the cool hats and the print coats - but no flags on the cars.
In comparison to the World Cup, there are flags all over the place. Are we, in the GTA, embarassed to be Canadian? Do we even consider ourselves to be Canadian? I remember growing up, everyone would talk about being something other than Canadian, where their parents, and sometimes even grandparents were from.
This brought me back to the Monday after the opening ceremonies. I was listening to Q107 in the morning, the John Derringer show. I like it because I like Maureen Holloway. John and Mo were going on about the opening ceremonies, and Mo said about how it was "Stereotypically Canadian" with the native indian focus and so on.
My question to Mo is, what is really Canadian then? What would you showcase at an event such as the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Winter Games that would convey to everyone what Canada is all about? Would it be Bob and Doug? Would it the theme be "We're just like the Americans, but friendlier"? Or would it be a showcase of the peoples who actually live in the country and still practice the same traditions their forefathers did hundreds of years ago. Who says that the people in the big centres of Canada, such as the GTA, have the final say on what is Canadian?
What makes me Canadian? Not my birth, although that allows me to stay in this country. It's a fierce loyalty to what I know and love about this country, the way that we welcome people from all over the world and don't force them to conform to our customs and ways. It's an appreciation of what we have in this country, large cities and vast unpopulated forests at the same time.
People have asked what my Nationality is. I tell them Canadian. My Dad was from Scotland, my Mom was nth generation Canadian. I was born here. I love it here.
I Am Canadian.
And I am putting my flag back up.
No comments:
Post a Comment