Patriotism At It's Finest.

Funny bunch us, the quiet northern neighbours of the U.S. Or at least that's what the rest of the world thought, well we showed them didn't we?

The latest hot topic has been the overwhelming show of Canadian patriotism as a result of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am proud to be a Canadian, I am proud of what Canada stands for and how we are now viewed by the rest of the world.

We Canadians know we live in a great country, and to us it's the greatest country on this planet. I know we are not alone in our thoughts of greatness, every other country's citizens feels the same way about their respective homeland. The difference with Canada and Canadians is we never really bought in to the whole idea of our greatness at least not until we were on the world stage and were given the opportunity to bask in all out red and white glory and did we ever.

When ever I hear our national anthem I get a little choked up, I don't know why, it's always been that way. When I was watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and had a damn hard time remaining composed. I love everything Canada stands for, I love our maple syrup and smoked salmon. I love that when push comes to shove we step up and throw our hats in the ring we do our part to ensure world peace. We are the quite northern neighbours who when fired up will defend our honour and that of our friends vehemently.

Admittedly I was not a supporter of the Olympics, I didn't really care either way, I resigned myself to the fact that there was very little that could be done to stop it once it was awarded, and over the years leading up to the big event the odd report on the cost and complications were met with sarcasm and doubt. My personal take on the whole thing was somewhat non committal. As long as it didn't interfere with my morning commute, then whatever. Then February 12th happened and my thoughts and feelings were forever changed.

I hopped on the bandwagon went for the ride and it was fantastic, so much so I was saddened to see it end. I do look forward to the Paralympics but it's really just not the same for me. This experience has renewed my interest in the Olympics, which over the years has wained. It has also prompted a new found curiosity in the Canucs, mostly because of Luongo and Kessler but it's more that just the "play-off" fever, I'm actually watching regular season hockey, something I have never done voluntarily.

I'm looking forward to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and I'm rooting for Munich to get them in 2018 because out of the three countries veing for them I'm most likely to travel to Munich to cheer on our athletes. By the way I heard the Federal government is promising 17 million to our athletes, correct me if I'm wrong. That would be a huge boost for our athletes, it could mean the difference between a silver and a gold, and although we didn't own the podium during this Olympics, we kicked butt in Gold, and broke two records to boot. Good for us.

So, there you have it, my rambling for the evening. nothing earth shattering, just getting it in print that I think we did good and I'm glad I was a part of it and having to pay for it over the next who knows how many years is ok because it cemented my love for my country, the greatest country on this planet. I am Canadian and a very proud one at that.

With much love, light and once again Canadian pride,
Tammy.