Instant Custom Signs – Drew Brims' Blog

Congratulations to all Canadian Athletes at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games!

You may think I’m jumping on a band-wagon here and maybe I am but I think it’s worth adding my voice to the growing chorus promoting the virtues of our Canadian athletes at the Winter Games.  I was extremely impressed with the way our athletes performed and when they won medals, gave credit to the many people who helped them along the way.  Alexandre Bilodeau, the classic example of Canadian humility, when congratulated about being the first Canadian athlete to win a gold medal on home turf, pointed to his brother as his inspiration and spoke of the many more medals his team-mates would win. As thrilled as he was to win a gold, it was just another day at the office and he didn’t want all the credit for just laying down the greatest on-snow performance in the world.

Others, Like Clara Hughes, delighted to win a bronze medal in her last Olympic event.  (She wasn’t disappointed it wasn’t a silver or gold!)

Scott Moir kidding Tessa Virtue that they had won silver when in fact they won gold.  (The fact that Tessa doesn’t even look at the placing says much about her character – she just goes out and does the best performance she can.)  There are so many more moments from the last two weeks that will resonate with me for some time to come.

Yes, the hockey game against the US was a thriller of major proportions and the script could have been written in Hollywood – Sid the Kid gets the winning goal in overtime after Canada gave up the tying goal with 24 seconds to go in regulation time.  But let’s be real here.  These are all professional athletes who make big salaries playing for teams owned by large corporations.  As important as the victory was to our national pride, it really was just an all-star game. The players all went back to their high paying jobs on Monday morning.

The real heroes in all this are the athletes who worked two jobs and sacrificed careers to compete for their country.  Through the “Own The Podium” program, the Canadian government coughed up some decent coin so that athletes could concentrate on their discipline and hire the coaches and support staff they need to perform at world-class levels.  That was an excellent investment in the future and the results speak for themselves as Canada was first in gold medals and third over all.

How many young people will be inspired to try out for sports they might have ignored before these games?  It’s about time we inspired young people to get off the couch, move away from computer games and encouraged them to get outside and enjoy every opportunity this great county of ours has to offer.  And these Olympic games have provided them with wonderful role-models.  Articulate, humble, skilled at their craft and generous with their time to speak to the media.

Congratulations to all the athletes, to all the organizers, the volunteers, the B.C. and Canadian government, and anyone who was involved in these games.  It was a great show, an exciting two weeks of euphoria for Canadian sports fans.  Let’s keep the ball rolling through the London Olympics in 2012 and Sochi in 2014.  Let’s stay focused on the goal.  Support our athletes so that they can again stand proud but humble on the podium.

What did you think of the Olympics. I’d love to get your feedback!

Cheers,

Drew.

Tags: 2010 Winter Olympics, Alexandre Bilodeau, Canadian Athletes, Drew Brims, ICSigns, Instant Custom Signs, Olympics, Sports, Vancouver Olympics