The Olympics Are Coming! YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! Part 2

                So we are just about a week away before the world comes to the most beautiful city in the world (9 out of 10 Vancouverites will agree to this according to the federal bureau of useless information).   After talking to one of my clients this morning, we came to the conclusion that there seems to be more hype and buzz about everything that is going on surrounding the Olympics and not enough talk about the actual Olympians and events.   I think everyone is fairly aware that traffic is predicted to be a nightmare, you have to take a bus to most events, there is high security, you cannot wear clothing that does not advertise the official sponsors and most importantly the lack of snow due to EL Nino (translates to "The Nino" for those that didn't know).

                For those of you that have read some of my past articles, you are aware that I may be a little sceptical of things,  but in the end I am a proud supporter of all sport and it's positive influences it has on both the athletes and our communities.    Having said this, my rant will start now:

                When the Olympics were in their infancy with the marathon, sprinting and greased up naked wrestling it was all about the sport and the athlete.  I am not trying to compare the Olympics of today to those of the beginning, but we need to learn from the past.  I am getting sick of hearing all the news broadcasts, newspaper and magazine articles slagging on what is happening in our great city.  As an ex-athlete I played in unfavourable conditions and had to adapt to changes that were put forth, just as these athletes will.  And at the end of the day, it was all about doing what I loved for a team that I loved and no news story could tarnish this.  There is nothing we can do about the fact that we have to take buses to events, our government is overspending, there is no snow etc.   Let's start focusing on what matters-the athletes that have dedicated their lives to their sport and country.  We need to realize as consumers and supporters that many of these athletes live and train off of their carding cheques which amount to $18 000 per year.  Many of them have given up careers, family and life in general despite the fact that an enormous amount of "wasted" spending has occurred.  I'm willing to bet if the Olympic budget was cut by as small as 3% and that funding went to our Canadian athletes, we would see many more of them on the podium. 

                I am going to share with you a little about some of our Level 10 athletes that have busted their asses for us (Canada).  We started with the National Snowboard team just over 3 years ago.  Many of you have seen them train at our facility and on T.V.  So I hope these little tid-bits motivate you to watch and support them.  As of now, Maelle Ricker is ranked number 1 in the world and Dom Maltais is ranked number 3 in the world for women's boarder cross.  Rob Fagan is ranked 3^rd in the world and we have 3 others that are ranked in the top 15 (Frank Boivin, Drew Nielson and Mike Robertson).   In the Alpine events Jasey Jay Anderson is ranked 1^st, Michael Lambert 3^rd and Matt Morrison is ranked 7^th in the world.  Obviously there are more Canadian Athletes that we need to support, but these are faces we have all seen on a regular basis and should be behind them cheering. 

My Final Thoughts:

                Do not take your Olympic frustrations out on the athletes!  We know how much money has been wasted on the lead up to this in relation to how much money the athletes live off.  There is only one week left and if you have hate in your heart, let it out-just not on the Olympians!  I don't disagree that as Vancouver locals we have dealt with some ridiculous behaviour from Vanoc and our government, but again, these things are now out of our control.  I was lucky enough to be in Salt Lake for the 2002 games and it was an experience like no other.  The city was electric (yea, Salt lake was electric believe it or not-then it went back to luke warm and bland, but we had a good couple of weeks)!  The people of Salt Lake forgot about all the build up and focused their energy on the events.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Vancouver, embrace it and support it.  It will all be over soon!

               Go after your dreams Maelle, Dom, Rob, Drew, Mike, Matt, Jasey Jay, Michael and Frank.  We are all proud of the work you have put forth to get here and we will be supporting you 100% regardless of the outcome (unless you don't podium! Just kidding). 

Yours in Strength,

Joe McCullum