Pride of a nation

The Olympics have begun and are off to a fantastic start. I know that many people find the Olympics to be an over priced  political event but once you see past all the government bureaucracy , you can almost feel the electricity that it brings and the unification of a country. Every 4 years no matter what country you live in you will find those people that are enemies standing side by side cheering for one common goal , the pride of a nation. Yes in some cases there are professionals that play in the games but the Olympics are about best on best not paycheck for paycheck. There have been many stories that have come out of Russia regarding the homophobic ideations of the Russian leader and the senseless slaughter of innocent animals for being homeless. These stories are an outrage and make me sick to think about ! I am so proud of our gay and lesbian athletes from around the world that had the courage to not back down and to attend the games with pride and to represent not only their country but also themselves. One heartwarming story I heard about was during a Biathlon race ; a Russian skier broke one of their ski's on the way to the finish line , a Canadian skier stopped gave the Russian skier one of their skis so that the person could finish the race to boisterous cheers  in front of the home crowd. That to me symbolizes what the games are all about , passion , compassion , fair play and the show of unity. Sure we all hope for the most gold medals so we can pump up our chest and say for that moment we are the best but I am sure if you would ask people at the end of the day , would you rather have all the medals and be known as a nation that does not care about anything but winning and is seen as arrogant or would you take no medals and be known as a nation that played their hearts out for the crest on the front of the uniform and not just the name on the back. Regardless of the medal count , to me , every person that puts on a Canadian uniform is an Olympics champion to me.I hope that you feel the same from which ever country you represent. To all the moms,dads and coaches this is a time to be proud you have prepared your champions well.