But Alex Bilodeau, the moguls skier who in Vancouver became the first Canadian to win a gold medal at a home Olympics, during a telephone interview with the Times Colonist shot back at critics of the brasher Canadian approach: "The Germans and others aren't here to finish second. That's the way sports is. It's competition. Own the Podium brings the best out of athletes."... and that's what it's all about. The world loves to love the underdog, the lovable loser, the person that doesn't threaten them. But in the end, it isn't the non-threatening lovable loser that doesn't want to upset the apple cart, that gets things done and earns respect.
That's what this is all about. In WWI, the world respected Canada because it had one of the world's largest armies. In WWII, the world respected Canada because it not only had one of the largest armies in the field, but one of the largest navies on the seas. We punched above our weight, and acted according to shared principles. Principles that promoted freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, democracy, and the peaceful transfer of power between opponents. THESE are the principles that we stood up for, and as a result, tyranny and totalitarianism were defeated in part due to our sacrifice.
After that time, the world started getting used to a Canada that said that it was punching above it's weight, but was rarely doing so. For those last 40 plus years, Canada was always the girl on the edge of the circle, trying to get her opinion noticed while everyone else is discussing and deciding.
So in short, I really couldn't care less if the world doesn't care for this new Canadian attitude. I really couldn't care less if many CANADIANS don't care for this new attitude. What I do care about is that Canada isn't competing just to get a participation medal. It's competing to win, and that's all that should matter.
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