In many respects, I prefer the winter Olympics to the summer games. There's a charm to these games you lose with the larger spectacle of the summer Olympics. Turin 2006 has come and gone and all that remains are the memories.
In good ol' spaghetti western style, here are the good, the bad and the ugly according to me, myself and I.
The Good
Canadian Olympians took home 24 medals, third overall in the world standings. Only Germany with 29 and the United States with 25 surpassed us. Throw in the fact 13 Canadians posted fourth-place finishes with eight others coming fifth and you've got yourselves an amazing display on the world's biggest stage. I'm damn proud.
Cindy Klassen won an unbelievable five medals, a Canadian Olympic record. She also won one in 2002 giving her six overall, also a Canadian record. In a word, she was spectacular. The humility all our athletes displayed complemented by a true sense of patriotism and teamwork is to be admired and emulated. Klassen and all our Olympians were not only good, they were great.
My life-line throughout the games was CBC.ca/Olympics and it was impressive. It was so good I had little need for another source. From hockey game blogs to instant perspectives and results, it was awesome. The display was crisp and easy to navigate and the tones were calming, even when I was nervously checking in on my hockey team.
The Bad
The time zone the games took part in meant I saw very few events live. That sucked, because I much prefer watching my sporting events live and there were some fantastic moments. This was the beauty of 2002 and the one negative in 2006. Prime time on tape isn't quite the same.
The Ugly
There was one medal Canadians wanted more than any other. We all looked to our men's hockey team to play the role of world beaters once more and show the world that this is still our game. Instead, we witnessed a lacklustre and mediocre display. It was ugly, but in Turin, it was the only spot of ugly during an otherwise awesome games.
Go Canada Go in 2010 in Vancouver. I'll be watching.
