Hockey Gold Would Wrap it Up

(Aired on February 26, 2010)

The giant distraction that has limited productivity in workplaces across Canada throughout the month of February is almost over.  And I mean that in the nicest possible terms.  As much as I am one of the hated critics of the five-ring circus, my criticisms have been largely directed at the financial push needed to put this event on.  Surely, you can put on an athletic event for less than $6-billion in public investment.

But the athletics themselves have been absolutely spell-binding.  I've followed the competition closely and have been as swept up in the storylines as everyone else.

-Sliders hurtling down a track that has already proved deadly.
-Canada going gold-silver in two-man bobsleigh.
-Our country's greatest olympic hero, Cindy Klassen, bravely competing after double-knee surgery robbed her of her explosiveness.
-Snowboarder Shaun White showing why he's the most dominant athlete in any sport - but figure skater Yu-Na Kim is not far behind.
-And of course, the triumph and tragedy of women's figure skater Joannie Rochette.

The most compelling story, however, is still to come for this hockey-loving country.  There will be no greater feeling of pride for Canadians than if we can win men's hockey gold on our home ice - and no worse feeling of defeat than if we lose to the Americans.  But while all of this is of great interest to me, escapism is not what I'm good at.

Monday, we will wake up to find our country is still at war, and our economy is still struggling.  While we may have thought the Olympics provided a tonic for our problems, it was indeed only a mild sedative.  It's our men's hockey team that has the greatest chance to give us the greatest memories.