The interview following the win by Alex Bilodeau in Freestyle Skiing, by Brian Williams of CTV, for me, was the highlight of these Olympic games so far. This young man, for whom family is first, spoke in such an elegant Canadian style, one would be hard pressed to find another who could better represent Canada to the world. His win was historic; the media adulation by CTV was unprecedented, yet his concern for family and their inclusion in this moment was heart warming and brought tears to my eyes.

But then Maelle Ricker’s Gold medal run in the Women’s Snowboard Cross took me to the pinnacle of Canadian pride once more. This shy Canadian girl from Vancouver would once again present to the world all that is best in our Canadian character.

And then again, Christine Nesbitt, as with all the Canadian gold medal winners, almost seemed apologetic receiving her prize while still acknowledging her great effort. But we do that don’t we. When I was at the pool yesterday, I came around a blind corner and ran into another person. We both excused ourselves and said sorry to each other.

For those that think the foreign media has a dim view of these Canadian Winter Olympics, you might want to catch the pod cast of the interview with Brian Williams, a respected NBC news anchor, by Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio One’s Q. I will let the podcast speak for itself, a very interesting listen indeed.

A previous article that appeared on this web site, “This is embarrassing”, by Kevin MacIntyre, a very poorly written article, fully on board with a negative and inaccurate view of the games in Vancouver, has chosen to perpetuate a view referencing his opinions with “The Seattle Times” and Breitbart.com. I think I will stick with Mr. William’s respectful view. And Mr. Shire led this all off with his wee rant, “Hah, Olympic Humbug”. Living on the west coast, with temperatures today in Kamloops offering the choice of going skiing or getting the Harley out, may lead to a more positive perspective on these Olympics. But I think the games can offer a sense of pride and joy even for those mired in a fugue of a prairie winter.

Image credits: Our thanks to CBC and CTV for the images borrowed for this story.