All we have is curling....

It was a dark, cold winter Monday night and I was driving home from work around 8:30. One of the benefits of living in Canada is that our local all sports talk shows don't have enough funding/talent to run a full slate of programming. The reason this is positive for us American sports fans is they pick up American radio to fill the time. In Edmonton, the Team 1260 runs Fox Sports Radio to fill the gaps, as well as the Jim Rome show. On this particular evening the Fox guys (Petros and Money) were discussing the new sport of curling. They were enamored with the good looks possessed by the Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard and the other competitors. But one thing they said got me thinking. Petros' friend, who happens to be Canadian, stated that Curling is all we have in Canada when hockey isn't on. Which, to my chagrin, is a statement simply thrown out there and believed to be true by so many people.

Now, if it was 1987 and there was no such thing as the internet I could understand this ignorant comment being shoved aside and assumed to be true. But this statement couldn't be farther from the truth. What's missing is people's definition of Canada.

Consider this. 90% of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the American border. 90%!!!! I'm not sure about you but when I travel places like Vancouver I don't see people lining up at Tim Horton's on their way to the local curling rink. This may be true in rural settings but it definitely does not apply to larger metropolitan ones. In fact, one only has to observe the greater trend in our country to urbanization to realize that the good old days of curling bonspiels and shinny at the local rink are going to be a thing of the past. When American's continue to throw out stereotypes such as "All they have up there is curling and hockey" they are talking about a significant minority of the country.

Take a quick peak at a report released by Statistics Canada in 2006 and you'll see the changing demographics of our country. Go back to 1941 and there were about 10 million people living in Canada. The urban/rural split was about 50/50. Over the past 60 years urban population has risen to 25 million while rural population has stayed about the same. By census rural they are referring to the population living outside settlements of 1000 or less. Well there are still community bonspiel's in smaller rural settings I can honestly say that I know 2 people in the Edmonton area who partake in the sport of curling.

Another often ignored aspect of Canadian life is the multiculturalism. Now while there may be very little ethnic representation on our Canadian Olympic team our country is a diverse melting pot of people. According to statistics from 2001 18.4% of Canadians were born outside of Canada, the highest proportion in 70 years. Statistics show that in 2001 population was growing at a rate of 4% while visible minority population was growing by 25%. From 1981 to 2001 the visible minority population in Canada quadrupled from 1 million to 4 million.

So well many Americans view of Canadians involves maple syrup, Mounties, curling, snow, and hockey, the real Canada is one of increased urbanization and ethnic diversity. Stating that all we have is curling is akin to saying that when football isn't on in the states all they have is Nascar. This may be true for a small majority of people in the deep south, but I imagine a tree hugger from Portland would not want to be thrown in with this stereotype.

So while you are watching the closing ceremonies at the Olympic Games tonight and see the hosts poke fun at Canadian stereotypes just remember that this is the old Canada. The new Canada is diverse, multicultural, urban, and looks nothing like our Canadian Olympic team.

Own the Podium?

Sometimes words just don't mean enough. When Rick Pitino talks of integrity or Tiger Woods attempts to seem human the words fall flatter than an American Idol contestant. Own the Podium is starting to feel this way for me.

When Canada introduced the slogan and program in 2005 I was optimistic. Finally we've realized that in order to compete against other countries we cannot have our athletes helping people decide between types of baseboards at your local Rona. They must be training full time and be funded this way. Here's the problem though. When results do not follow, someone has to be held accountable. As it states on the Own the Podium website the goal for Canadians was to finish in first in the medal count and top three in the gold medal count at the 2010 olympics. Well these are lofty goals they are almost laughable at this stage of the games. Canada currently has 9 medals compared to the United States' 24. The Canadian Olympic Committee still holds strong saying that a dominate second week is around the corner but unless the second week involves importing athletes from another country I don't see it happening. Many can point to the different aspects of the sports (judging in skating, the track in luge, skeleton and bobsled, the hill at Whistler) but I point to something else. Simply put we cannot have it all.

I still remember when I was young watching the Boston Bruins being saluted by their home crowd after losing a memorable deciding game in the NHL playoffs. I thought this was good sportsmanship by the fans and players as they acknowledged a great season. My dad thought otherwise. Or as he said it "This would never happen in Montreal". This has stuck with me and made me realize the inherent problem with Own the Podium. In order to "own" it, we cannot salute those who do not finish in the top 3. Or, if I could change my dad's quote "This would never happen in the USA". Our ugly big brothers to the south do not celebrate athletes who try hard but don't quite get it done. Melissa Hollingsworth would not be cheered by Americans for finishing fifth. Pieere Leuders and Jesse Lumsden would not be providing interviews on NBC with smiles on their faces after finsihing fifth in the bobsled. Quite simply put you cannot value every competitor on your team if you want to own the podium. You must make finishing off the podium so socially disgraceful that athletes cannot fathom not winning a medal. Look at countries that traditionally finish high in medal standings. Russia, United States, China...what do they have in common? An unreal competitive nature where 2nd place is not acceptable. Their are no moral victories or people who get famous off of heartwarming stories. There are winners and losers.

Built into the social fabric of Canada is an innate sense that people have value. Not just successful people, but all people. We are conservative fiscally as a country but very socialistic when it comes to programs. Look at our immigration policy, social security, health care, and education systems. They are grounded in the principle that every human has value, regardless of where they are in life. Compare us to the States where only the strong survive and you end up with a country built on cooperation not competition.

You do not need to look farther than the hockey tournament going on in Vancouver currently for evidence. In a game where half the American squad wouldn't have been invited to our summer training camp we get outplayed, outhustled, and outcoached by a group of competitors that realize losing is not an option. Whether our hockey team wins or loses does not matter in the long run since they will all still be heros in their home communities since they made the NHL.

In a country that is consistently voted one of the best places to live in the world there is really no reason to think we need to change our views on the value of our citizens. We support our athletes, win or lose. We support our citizens, win or lose. And while that is a value that I think makes for a great country to live in and to be raised in, it does not lend itself to owning the podium.

The beginning...

or years I have had an identity crisis. I feel trapped in my own body. How can a Prairie raised, hockey playing, caucasian boy from small town Alberta become so infatuated with American sports? What went wrong at such a young age that caused the shift from sticks and pucks to hoops and cleats?

Well I cannot pinpoint the exact moment the transformation occurred, I can tell you that it was quick, painless, and permanent. I'll take you back to that fateful March evening in my house in Three Hills hanging out in the basement with my dad and brother.

On the television that night was the NCAA final four. As an athletic young boy I loved every sport, basketball included. Growing up in a small prairie town meant that I spent nearly every morning since the age of four going to the rink and playing hockey. I enjoyed this throughly but something about the early mornings, cold rinks, and inability to tie my skates by myself made me yearn for something else. Along came the Runnin' Rebels, Blue Devils, and Pizza Hut. How are all three of these connected? Let me explain.

Pizza Hut was a family favorite in the Reed house. Not only were the free refills on the pop, but they would have specials on constantly. Medium pizzas for 5$ (which we would pick up by the dozen it seemed), all you can eat specials, and a relaxed family atmosphere made it a prime night out for us country bumpkins. During the February month of 1990, Pizza Hut offered a free mini basketball with a visit to their restaurant. Since we frequented the North East Pizza Hut location regularly, it was no surprise when I wound up with one of these gems. This led to me becoming interested in the event going on south of the border called the Final Four. I immediately took a liking to the team with the atletes' on it: the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. With highflyers such as Larry Johnson, Anderson Hunt, Stacey Augmon and a coach who was a personality all his own (Jerry Tarkanian) I couldn't help but root for the guys from Las Vegas. Not only were they easy to cheer for, but their nemesis, the Duke Blue Devils, were equally easy to root against. I still remember emulating LJ as I dunked my Pizza Hut basketball into my clothes hamper for what seemed like an eternity.

So, as a 10 year old I was hooked on American sports. I loved College Bowls (namely the Rose Bowl with the parade!), NBA (the era of Michael Jordan becoming the alpha dog and dismantling anyone in his way), and college basketball. What I didn't foresee was the problem that would confront me as I grew older.

I love Canada and everything about living here but I love American sports. These two things seemingly do not go hand in hand. Ask anyone south of the border what sports Canadians love and they will probably respond with curling, hockey, ice fishing, and dog sledding. They would not think that a school teacher in Edmonton, AB would have the slightest interest in the BCS, expansion of the NCAA tournament, or the impending free agent class of 2010 in the NBA. Sadly, to follow these sports I must be an internet junkie, watching highlights online while TSN plays back hours of hockey analysis.

So, as a result of this plague that has stricken me and the conundrum I find myself in daily, I have decided to write about American sports from a Canadian perspective. If nobody ends up reading this at least I'll feel as though I am doing something incredibly therapeutic for the mess I find myself in. I gotta run and get back to watching grown men throw rocks down a sheet of ice.

Late