I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!!
I have always been a sports person. Even at a young age, I wanted to try, participate and watch every sport I could. During childhood and adolescents I played and was involved in many sports, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, curling and softball. Softball has been the sport that definately won my heart and is a sport, I have played competitively until this recent summer. But there is definately something that is special for me about the olympics. I would watch every hour of coverage if I could and often switch to NBC to watch when CBC or TSN is covering something else. I think I love the olympics, because it is about amateur athletes (with the exception of men's hockey and basketball), that dedicate years of their lives to their sport, with the dream that one day they may be able to represent Canada at the Olympics. I think what I love about it, is these are regular people who often hold part-time or full-time jobs or are students. They do not get paid to play their sport, they train, dedicate hours of their life because they love what they are doing. The olympics are what sports should really be about. Not about negiotating to get that million dollar contract, or sitting out in professional sports when they dont get what they want or feel they are too injuried to play. These olympians often train and perform through a variety of serious injuries and illnesses and always give their best when they perform. So although winning medals is the goal, I love the spirit and sportsmanship that these athletes have to offer. They remind the public that its not always about money and winning, but doing the best one can do on any given day. This is the message that should be sent out to our kids, not the one they have been receiving from the professional sports. I have great amount of respect for these olypmpians and all the other althletes who tried but fell just short of qualifing to get to Italy. One last thing, I put a picture of Sandra Schmirlier on my site because to me she represented to the fullest what it is to be an amateur athlete and to be an olympian. She is definatetly one of my hero's. If you do not know her, she won Canada's first and only gold in curling at the olympics in 1998. She has been refered to as the 'queen of curling' and 'Schmirlier the curlier'. She helped to qualify her team while she was pregnant and was always a great ambastor for the sport. She even continued to promote it, throughout her struggle with cancer, which is a fight that she eventually lost in 2000. She always took the time to meet her fans, talk to the media, encourage her team members and did this with class, respect and usually with a smile on her face. So this post is dediacted in her memory as well as goes out to all of our Canadian olympians who have worked very hard to be in Italy. I salute you.