Olympic Wrap

It is a bright, sunny morning in Toronto and the forecast is for gradual warming over the next week. I am not sure that this is the start of an early spring or simply a tease … it is certainly not unusual to get a big blast of winter towards the end of March but I am hopeful.
On another exciting note, the Olympics are over and were by all accounts a great success. From everything I have read over the past few weeks, the coverage of the winter games has captivated Canada. Record television viewers for everything from the opening ceremonies right through Sunday’s final hockey game. I have also read that the television numbers in the U.S. were great with the gold medal men’s hockey game being one of the most watched sporting events in history. At it’s peak, the game had 35 million viewers in the US – averaging more viewers then the Daytona 500, the Masters and the World Series. I heard a report that in Canada 16 million televisions were tuned in with an estimated 80% of the population seeing at least part of the game.
Clearly, our network coverage was amazing and I cannot remember more daily “water cooler” conversation on any other subject. When the dust clears and we can look at the entire experience, it will be clear that we care about sports, about achievement, about our country and about our athletes. Maybe our governments should reconsider how much money is allocated to amateur athletics – not because it’s critically important that we win more medals then anyone else but because we want to feel accomplished as a nation. It seems to me that the past 17 days have done more for the Canadian psyche then anything in my memory.
The success of these Olympics should be a reminder that we share a commonality throughout the country. We are passionate…maybe that passion could spill over into expectations for the country as a whole.
For a great wrap up check out this CTV video
I was also forwarded a great video by Tom Brokaw that aired in the U.S. just before the Olympics…kind of a crash course on Canada. I found it to be really well done.
Cheers and have a great day!
George