• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Work With Me
  • Research
  • Studio
  • Contact

One Nation – Under Gold

Sunday, 14 February 2010 23:25

Vancouver 2010, IlanaaqThe Olympics represent something special in the sports world. For all of the disputes related to performance enhancing drugs, figure skating “judges”, and the like, the Olympics represent a time when people come together in the spirit of competition. Wars don’t matter. Races and religions don’t matter. The Olympics bring the world together.

There is nothing quite like the feeling you have when your athlete, your team, your nation, stands atop the highest level of the podium. When you hear the opening strains of your national anthem, it will always bring a tear to your eye, regardless of what country you were born in (and where home is now). You could be from the United States, or Croatia, or Australia – that sense of pride, that feeling of “home” – exists deep within each of us, almost to the core of our being.

In the three times that Canada has hosted the Olympics, they have not won a gold medal on their home soil. Through the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and now the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada has yet to strike gold in their own backyard.

When I was growing up, Canadians were always a little shy about being overtly proud of their nationality. Unless it comes to hockey - our national pastime. But even the Canadian men’s hockey team had a 50 year gold medal drought at the Olympics until 2002. As a Canadian living in the United States, the Olympics are always an interesting psychosocial challenge. I am always reminded of the Canadian medal count, and how it compares to that of the United States. Our Olympics sport self-image has almost become a bit of a Canadian inferiority complex.

I think I really started to notice a collective change sometime around, well, 2002 – the year that the men’s hockey team ended their 50 year drought. When they won – the whole nation cheered. Loudly.

Bob Costas of NBC noted in the opening ceremonies that Canadians have now started to become “openly assertive and ambitious”. Much as this sounded like a bit of a snub, maybe it’s true. Later in the show, he noted that he really didn’t see anything wrong with it – that now, Canadians could be welcoming and great hosts as always, but then say “we’re going to kick your butt”.

Hallelujah.

For this Winter Olympiad, Canada developed a program entitled “Own The Podium”. There was a time not so long ago when a program like that would never have existed in the psyche of the country.

And that same collective psyche – well, it all changed today.

On this Valentine’s Day 2010, a moguls skier gave Canada one of the greatest gifts possible. Alexandre Bilodeau from Montreal, Quebec became the first Canadian to win a gold medal on Canadian soil. And with that, our sports self-image, our belief in ourselves, was awakened.

In 1996, I was in Atlanta working at the Summer Olympics. I had the good fortune of being present at the rowing venue when Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle won the gold medal in the women’s double sculls. I was also present for the Canadian 4 x 100m relay track and field gold medal. I got to hear my home nation’s anthem a couple of times. And it was something special, touching, patriotic, emotional.

But I can tell you that those two events in 1996 were nothing compared to the feelings of this evening.

It is always amazing how sport can rally a nation in ways that other things cannot. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. Tonight, Canadians cheer proudly as Canadians. Regardless of whether they are French speaking or English speaking, they wave the flag together. Tonight, it really is about more than just hockey. For a brief fleeting moment, the tears flowed freely. Tonight, it was about who we are. We are, for once, finally, one nation, under gold. In our own backyard.

Photo credit: ***roham***

Subscribe To My Newsletter

I'll share my latest thoughts, ideas, blog posts, and content with you every two weeks! It's free and it's 100% spam-free. How cool is that? What more can you ask for?

Subscribe Now

Besselink Project

  • Smart Sport
  • Smart Physio
  • RunSmart
  • RiffSmart
  • P1 Project
  • Innovanated

BP Manifestos

  • Smart Health Revolution
  • Vision Now

Breaking News

  • Life Through The Lens Of My OM-10
  • Superpowers, Stories, And Social Change
  • Social Media Didn't Fail Us - We Failed Us
  • Critical Thinking And The Bermuda Triangle
  • Should Normal Have Ever Been Normal?

Most Popular Posts

  • The Deafening Silence
  • Evolution Or Revolution?
  • Learning How To Live
  • Patient Access To Physical Therapy And Groundhog Day
  • The Homeostasis Of Writing
  • McKenzie’s Derangement Syndrome In A World Of Pathoanatomy
  • Three Common Examples Of Self Image, Self Sabotage, And Comfort Zones In Action
  • Why HB 1263 Matters
  • The Flow Of Running, The Flow Of Life
  • One Nation – Under Gold
  • A Pause For Many A Cause
  • Civil Rights And Your Health
  • Own, Disrupt, Transform–Or Else?
  • Is Non-Evidence-Based Clinical Practice An Ethical Dilemma?
  • The APTA’s Vision 2020: My 12 Year Report Card
  • Think Big, Act Big
  • The Paradox That Is World Cup Soccer
  • Generation Z And Obesity
  • Your Own Worst Enemy
  • Direct Access To Physical Therapy: You Have It, Or You Don’t

Allan Besselink

Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Dip.MDTAllan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sport, education, and health care, one that has been defined by his experiences as physiotherapist, mentor, McKenzie practitioner, innovator, author, educator, coach, patient, and athlete. Read more about Allan, contact him, get updates via email, or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

RunSmart Book

Where To Buy RunSmartUp to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.

Featured Chapter

Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation "Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.

PT Blog Awards

Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".

Copyright 2006-2022 Allan Besselink  | Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy |  Disclosure Policy |  FAQ

Powered By Mobius Intermedia