Canada Wins Bronze in Soccer! Yes, you read that right!

If you have been following my blog, first, I want to thank you for reading it.  As you have probably figured out by now, I am a huge fan of soccer.

I am borderline fanatic.

Since the 1982 World Cup, I have not missed a WC final, going even as far as renting out a hotel room because there was no cable TV at the lake, and I couldn't take my children to the sports bar (1998, France 3 Brazil 0).

I lived in Brazil for close to ten years and I immersed myself in the culture of the love for soccer. People there are so passionate for the game, it is something that is unrivalled anywhere else in the world. My ex husbands uncle is so crazy for his team Fluminense, that if you were invited to go to a match with him and Flu lost, you were permanently banned from ever going to the stadium with him again. You were considered bad luck. The closest thing we in Canada can relate to is our love of hockey.

Hockey is the most popular sport in Canada, but I am sensing a change.

More and more kids (both boys and girls) are playing soccer and our Canadian Women's National Team (CWNT) just won the Bronze medal in the London Olympics. After a heartbreaking loss to the USA in the semi finals, Canada pulled it together in the Bronze medal game and scored the winning goal against France in the 91st minute.

They lost all of their games in the World Cup last year. The women's team have regrouped, changed their coach, turned it around and are now considered a strong team. The captain, Christine Sinclair, is a hero and a national treasure. She is our Ronaldo, our Pele, our Michel Platini!

Soccer Canada is maybe finally getting it. We need more investment and opportunity for our kids to have the dream and opportunity to play for Canada, and for Canada to succeed at an international level in both mens and womens soccer. They have started the movement by bringing in the new coach, John Herdman, for Canada. Now they need to do the same for the men.

I am looking forward to the day where I will see both the men's and women's teams in the World Cup and the Olympics.

Hopefully that day will come sooner, rather than later.......

How the Olympics Have Changed

I love the Olympics. Or should I say, I used to love the Olympics more than I do now.

Growing up in Calgary in the 70's,  my family was privileged to belong to the Calgary Winter Club. They had a swim team that all of us kids competed for at one time or another. Mom or Dad would drive us every night for practice, either hang out and socialize, go curling, or go home for some rest and relaxation while the four of us swam laps and dreamed about being an Olympic swimmer.

For me, the Olympic gold medal was the be all and end all for a swimmer. It is the highest level that a swimmer can reach. When Mark Spitz won 7 golds in Munich in 1972, swimming became increasingly popular in Canada and USA. Swimming has had its ups and downs over the years, with doping scandals from the former East German team, and now the questionable swimming of the Chinese. Michael Phelps was caught with a bong after the Bejing Olympics, but managed to spin out of that one before London.

Olympics are about the hard training, sacrifice and above all, HEART!

I guess it was ever since they allowed the Dream Team of the NBA to play in the Olympics that it all went downhill for me. These guys were the best of the best at the time, but they were PROFESSIONALS.

In the 'old' days, an athlete won a gold and then the sponsors could use them to sell their products. That was how athletes were compensated for all of their hard work and sacrifice, and could 'retire' from the amateur sports world, become a commentator a motivational speaker or disappear into oblivion.

Not any more.

Now, athletes can be professionals and be Olympic athletes at the same time. They are already raking in endorsements before the Games and usually by sponsors that are also sponsoring the Games. Is this right? The jury is still out on that.

I get psyched when I see Canadian athletes do well, because I know what they put in to get where they are.

I like to see stories on Usain Bolt and his legacy that he is leaving for future runners in Jamaica. Giving back. Its heartwarming.

I guess I can do without the 'yo yo' attitude of the USA basketball team, who collectively earn over 180 million dollars a year and treat the Olympics with such a 'whatever' attitude.

For me, that is not the spirit of the Games.

Now we just have to rid ourselves of Brian Williams on CTV...