Sarah and I were talking the other night about who should be the flag bearer for Canada at the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics. Unlike last time where Cindy Klassen was an easy pick, it's not so clear-cut this year. Here are who I think the candidates are:
Alex Bilodeau - Won the first Gold for Canada at home. While it's a great achievement, I don't think he should be the flag bearer. Why? He won the first Gold because his event was one of the first ones scheduled. It easily could have been one of our other Gold medal winners, but they were scheduled to compete later in the games.
Kevin Martin - If Martin wins the Gold medal game in men's curling, his team will have gone undefeated through the entire Olympics. That's about 12-13 games in a row he will have won against the best in the world. That's just as, or more, dominant than Cindy Klassen was 4 years ago, but he'll only have one medal to show for it, not 5.
Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir - I think these two have a real shot at hoisting the flag, for being the first North Americans to win Gold in their sport. To me that's more of an accomplishment than Bilodeau winning the first Gold of the games for Canada.
And finally, who I think deserves to be the flag bearer...
Joannie Rochette - She won a Bronze medal under the absolutely worst condition you can imagine. Her mother died in Vancouver of a heart attack just a day or two before Rochette was set to compete. Rather than bow out, which nobody would have blamed her for (Skate Canada was ready to support her decision to drop if she chose to do so), she skated her heart out in tribute to her mother. Canada would have been proud of her even if she finished last, but winning a medal under such adversity is an amazing accomplishment.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the flag bearer. If Joannie wasn't up to handling the flag bearer job (which would be completely understandable), then I think it should be Kevin Martin. Probably a long shot, since I can't think of any time in recent memory that a curler got to carry the flag (Sandra Schmirler may have, I'm not sure on that one), but if Joannie isn't able to, I'd like to see the Old Bear get the job.
More copies of Dark Awakenings for UAD!!!!
5 months ago
Even though she only won the bronze medal, Rochette deserves a gold medal for her courage and perseverance through the most difficult of times. Very few athletes would have taken part in a sporting event as huge as the Olympics (or any other event) shortly after the tragic death of a loved one.
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