Is it really over??

Where does one begin?? There is SOOO much to talk about…this may have to be broken down into a number of different posts.

But I’m sad that it's over and I'm definitely experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Not to sound overly dramatic but my life feels a little bit empty now that I don’t have the Olympics to watch every night as well as streaming it on my laptop throughout the day. Maybe I’ll just ask Brian Williams to periodically tell me what the time is in both the pacific and eastern time-zones. I have also developed several new crushes, one of them being Jay Onrait from TSN. He is officially number one on my Geekie Freebie 5 of course amongst the likes of Seth Meyers, James Duthie and Conan O'Brien. Don't judge me.

But it’s not about who’s reporting what. The Olympics are about the athletes. Am I the only one who is incredibly curious and fascinated to know what goes on at the Olympic Village???? I heard rumors of ping pong tournaments taking place between the Canadian athletes and participants included several members of the men's hockey team. What I would give…

The Olympics and what it represents for these athletes is a lifetime worth of dedication and sacrifices being made to reach this goal of dawning their country’s colours. This is all in hopes of hearing their national anthem being played because there is a new piece of golden hardware around their neck, that’s why I love sports. They have reached the pinnacle of their career, the emotions that overcome anyone who watches these intimate moments that happen when an athlete realizes that they did it, that it all was worth it, it is overwhelming. Yes, a lot of it is talent, the mechanics of training, the strength and conditioning, to the nutrition, they have worked to perfect all of these components in order to reach this goal. But there are things that make up these individuals that cannot be taught. It is the motivation, the drive to dig deep when all of your rational senses are telling you to stop, that is something that cannot be taught. There are days in every athlete’s preparation when they question whether or not if this all worth it? From the unfortunate financial stress of poorly funded programs, to the range of sacrifices that one has to make in multiple facets of their life from personal relationships to putting other life aspirations on hold, those are things that you do not see when an athlete is being introduced. The perseverance, the dedication, the unbridled passion that they have for their sport, this is what constitutes what an Olympian is.

It would be easy to say that my favourite Olympic moments were the ones that received the most attention, to the men reclaiming Olympic gold in hockey, to Alexandre Bilodeau igniting the nation’s enthusiasm for our games with our first gold medal win. Yes these are all pivotal moments that will be remembered. But it’s the athletes who did not medal, the ones who faltered, even after their years of training, it was those athletes who endured and kept going. Grinding it out until the end, the mental toughness to beat the physical exhaustion your body is experiencing, that is what makes an athlete an Olympian. A true honest moment was seen in Canada’s Devon Kershaw after finishing 5th in the Men’s Cross Country 50 km classic. To say that it’s an excruciatingly difficult race would be an understatement, as it requires endurance of the most optimal level with a focused drive to propel you to the finish line. Kershaw was devastated that he came so close to his Olympic dream of reaching the podium with his 5th place finish. Heart-wrenching and devastating is the more common experience that athletes share amongst each other, as there are only a handful out of the thousands of competitors who will hear their national anthem echoing as their flag is being raised along with a new gold medal draped around their neck. Many do not and will not make it to this point. But this doesn’t stop them from trying. To them, the fight to participate, the opportunity to compete to obtain their dream, that’s enough for them. Why can’t it be enough for everyone?

Yours in sports and stilettos,

Scotty