On Board the Olympic Bandwagon

(Aired January 28, 2010)

While there are those who have given us the doom and gloom perspective on the Olympics, and what costs we might be looking at to pay for these Games, I think it's time we hopped on the bandwagon and started showing a little Olympic spirit. Please tell me what value there is in protesting Olympic events, whether peaceful or not? Please tell me what you accomplish with the glass half empty approach? Absolutely nothing.

Let us assume the naysayers are right, and we are going to be in the hole big-time for the Olympic games. The Games are here, the money is going to be spent. So why not try to now make our province a spectacle of excitement to show the world what there is to attract people to British Columbia. The long-term positives of the Games may be somewhat intangible, but positives there are. Who knows how many people around the world will be watching the Games? They see the beautiful city, the features on the province as a whole, the skiing, the beaches, and so on, and they spend thousands to come here on a vacation. There will be many people who will do that. Do you honestly think that taking a doom and gloom approach is the answer?

I certainly agree with the naysayers that money was not well spent in some areas, but it has been spent. Let's try now to turn that negative into a positive. If people around the world see our city as a place not to come to because of the protests and the red tents and god knows what, do you really think that's a positive move? If Vancouver's reputation as a city to live in is tarnished, that will have a lot bigger long-term negative impact than any budget shortfalls.

I am not in favour of ignoring problems, and problems there are, but to make the problems worse? What does that accomplish? Absolutely nothing.