Freddie P's Blog

March 2, 2010 @ 13:13

I really don't know how to handle this without sounding like a hypocrite, but I guess when you get right down to it, there are a ton of us in this category.

I'm one of those guys who doesn't believe in the Olympics. I think they're a colossal waste of time and money and I've made that point on many occasions. I've said I don't want the Olympics to come to Toronto and besides being a burden on taxpayers, the Olympic movement is rife with corruption and very few at the top can be trusted.

Having said all that, what a great two weeks in Vancouver.

I guess its like anything else, regardless of your position, once the commitment is made the best thing to do is make the most of it and man oh man did Vancouver make the most of it.

All the events were held, all the medals were handed out and most people, other than snobby malcontents, walked away happy, impressed and full of fabulous memories.

That ultimately is part of the satisfaction for me. The British and Russians press were Vancouver's biggest detractors, but in the end they looked absolutely foolish while putting pressure directly on themselves to out-do Canada in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

Great moments? There were a ton of them with the capper being Sidney Crosby's overtime goal. It was excruciatingly painful to watch the closing minutes of regulation time, but in retrospect, it couldn't have had a better finish, an overtime goal scored by Canada's latest hockey icon giving this country a record for gold medals at a Winter Olympics.

It was the final event for a wonderful event and it all went our way. With those 14 gold medals we did own the podium make no mistake about it.

I could go on and on about other poignant moments but I won't. They've been talked about and analyzed by everybody and his brother.

All that matters at this point is that the games were a success and hopefully the price tag won't be too staggering and force all of us to keep paying for decades to come. But it's too late to worry about that now.

And not to close on a downer but I have to mention this. If there was one clear-cut blemish to these Olympics it was the decision by CTV Globemedia to bully their way to the front of the line and have their announcers carry the torch.

And it has nothing to do with journalistic integrity, it has everything to do with earning the right. Kerrin Lee Gartner and Donovan Bailey didn't carry the torch, but Ben Mulroney and Michael Landsberg did. Are you kidding me?

Shameful. Shameful for CTV to think it up and even more shameful for those involved to actually do it. I can only deduce that they were forced to do it.

If any of those broadcasters had entered the Torch Lottery like everyone else and won, cool, there's no problem with that. But to do it the way they did was downright wrong.

They should have declined, I would have.

Category: Sports