A Rare Goal

Ryan Miller, the USA goal tender, letting in a rare goal tonight.

The Canadians are choking in the games. Never before has there been so much hype about "owning the podium". The Canadian Olympic programs have received infusions of cash and the athletes have contended well on the world stage prior to the Olympics, but when it comes to 'crunch time', the results are just not there. Tonight we saw another example in the Men's Hockey as Canada fell to the USA. Let's face it. Ryan Miller was outstanding. Normally, with the way Canada played, and with the amount of shots they put on Miller, they should have won. But, some rather untimely penalties and some poor puck handling by our own goal tender made the difference and we now have to go the more difficult route to get to the medal round. We are down but are not out.
The expectations on our athletes are huge and many of them are taking their losses very personally. We are hearing things like, "I feel I have let down my country". That is a heavy burden. Instead we should be celebrating our athletes for even qualifying to be there in the first place! When the top ten competitors are only hundredths of a second apart, being fifth or sixth holds no shame. What I am most proud of is the way we as Canadians are wrapping ourselves in a patriotism that actually out performs the Americans. I have never seen anything like it and this new feeling of pride and of country bodes well for our future. Nations become great when all the citizens pull together and have common goals. A sense of unity will bring us much farther than dissension and strife. When the people of this country, of all stripes, wear the Maple Leaf, we become strong and will be able to accomplish great things.
Sure, it is disappointing for the athlete and the fan when we do not win, but, if in the process we can become unified, we have won much more than a piece of metal to hang around our neck, we have won a great future for our country.