Grit and determination

It’s a beautiful,

sunny morning,

clear skies,

not hot,

nice,

Summer,

not the oppressive heat,

we’ve had of late,

a tough Summer,

in Montreal,

but,

it’s been bad all over,

much worse in the Midwest.

We all need to recharge,

our batteries,

while we can.

I’ve been watching the Olympics,

enjoying the amazing,

performances,

of Micheal Phelps,

the wonderful Usain Bolt,

inspiring examples,

of what hard work,

talent,

determination,

grit,

and,

complete dedication,

to sport,

can bring you.

But,

perhaps,

an even more,

compelling?

useful?

by product?

Lesson?

of the vicarious experience,

that is Olympic watching,

the agony of defeat,

the sheer unfairness of it all.

Life and sport,

aren’t always fair,

some days,

things just don’t work,

or,

a freakish accident happens,

or,

a stressed and imperfect judge,

makes a mistake,

and all,

the training,

sacrifice,

hard work,

and,

pain,

seem for naught.

You didn’t win,

you fell,

you finished,

last,

you were robbed,

by,

an incompetent,

referee.

As a Canadian,

I have a few examples in mind.

Paula Findlay,

a triathlete,

a winning and experienced triathete,

went to the Olympic games,

as one of the favourites,

and,

she finished,

fifty-second,

out of fifty-two finishers,

but,

she finished!!!

After the race in tears,

devastated,

she apologised to the nation,

for letting us down.

This beautiful,

dedicated athlete,

who was dumped by her coach,

weeks before the Olympics,

who spent the last year training,

with a chronic hip pain.

that no Doctor seems able,

to understand the origin of-

Paula Findlay,

a beautiful example,

of,

health and excercise and dedication,

apologised,

to us,

as if she owed us something,

mind-blowing.

The pressure to perform,

and,

our incessant thirst for medals,

perform, perform,

win, win,

make us proud,

help put some excitement in our lives.

When Paula Findlay,

a beautiful red headed,

muscular,

healthy,

young and full of hope,

woman,

athlete,

stood there crying,

and,

apologising,

for letting us down,

I had a lump in my throat,

and,

I felt,

as a sports fan,

and,

enthusiastic supporter,

of our,

National team,

that I had let Paula down,

it was a humbling experience.

For what it’s worth,

I’m proud of you,

Paula

🙂

Paula on Sunday, her Olympic dreams shattered,

and in happier winning times.

After that emotion on Sunday,

Monday,

brought,

another hard day.

The Canadian women’s soccer team,

against all odds,

found themselves,

playing the powerful U.S squad,

for the chance to play,

in Thursday’s gold medal game.

The Americans,

are ranked number one in the world,

the Canadians are ranked number seven,

and,

have beaten the Americans,

only four times in the past ten years,

and yet,

lead by a new head coach,

from New Zealand,

John Herdman,

and,

a captain who is arguably,

the best female soccer player in the world,

our captain,

the great Christine Sinclair,

class, talent and dedication,

personified,

(she leads the tournament scoring and is second only to the legendary Mia Hamm in overall international tournament scoring)

both,

Sinclair and Herdman,

told the Canadian public,

‘believe in us, because we believe in us’

So the stage was set,

David vs Goliath,

in so many different ways.

The Canadians played tough,

right from the start,

and,

kept the Americans scoreless,

until Sinclair,

scored a beautiful goal,

to give the Canadians the lead.

The Americans scored on a corner kick,

it wasn’t a pretty goal,

but hey,

a goal is a goal,

right.

Sinclair and the Canadians,

came back,

she scored another.

The Americans scored again,

this time a nice one.

A few minutes later,

Sinclair,

again,

hat trick,

wow!!!!

and,

then the referee,

made two,

very questionable calls in a row,

giving the great Abby Wambach,

a  penalty kick,

and,

duh,

she scored.

But,

still we were tied,

and,

going to overtime.

In the last minute of the extra thirty minutes,

after both teams,

had played,

ninety minutes of regulation,

and,

an extra thirty,

one hundred and twenty minutes,

of running and sweating,

the Americans scored,

and,

our dreams,

of playing Japan,

for the gold medal,

were shattered.

But,

you know even if the Canadians,

lose the bronze medal match,

the worst they can do,

is fourth place,

better than the experts predicted,

and.

they struck,

the fear of Sinclair,

into the Americans:-)

They live to fight another day.

So two hard days,

for Canada at the Olympics?

Maybe not,

more like,

examples of what belief and determination give you,

even if it isn’t winning

😛

what doesn’t kill you,

makes you stronger,

and,

you live to fight another day.

I’ll keep watching,

I hope you do,

too.

Enjoy the rest of the games, girls,

Later,

BB