::on feeling appreciated::
Friday, December 9, 2011 This morning, after a 20km paddle (8x8mins, if you're curious) here in sunny (windy) Florida with Anders "@analog79" Gustafsson, while eating my breakfast (bacon, eggs, espresso and bagel, if you're wondering) I saw that Randy Starkman blogged about a couple of omissions for "Canadian Athlete of the Year" that he felt were important to point out. They included Tara Whitten, Catharine Pendrel and myself. Tara and Catharine are both cyclists (Omnium on the track, and Mountain/cross-country, respectively), and like me - they were both Champions of the World in 2011. They were also, like me, conspicuously absent from the Sportsnet poll and Scott Russell's 12-person list for CBC Canadian Athlete of the Year, in addition to Randy's first list.
I've had the pleasure now to meet Tara, and talk a little bike shop, and ski shop, as she is also a cross-country skier. I've never met Catharine, but I channeled her Mountain Bike Jedi Energy in September out on the trails one day, and I'm certain I owe a few climbs to her Mountain Bike midi-chlorian count. Then I saw a picture of Catharine ripping some of my favourite trails in Whistler out at Callaghan Valley, ON XC SKIS!! She's a skier too! Woah, Tara, Catharine and I have got some stuff in common... we all love rippin' trails on the skinny sticks, we ride bikes, we are 2011 Weltmeisters, and we didn't make it onto any (first draft) lists! On the last item - it's ok... I don't care about silly lists, more on that after a few long winded caffeine-fueled paragraphs
I will add Alex Harvey to the list of omissions, actually. He was U-23 World Champion last year in the 30km pursuit, and then teamed up with Devon Kershaw to win the team sprint at the big show in Oslo last winter (DK has been, very deservedly, on a few of these lists of great Canadian Athletes of 2011). If you recall though, in that race in Oslo, it was Alex who outsprinted Ola Vigen Hattestad (super fast viking skier) of Norway to the line to win that race... possibly the raddest thing any Canadian Male has ever done on a pair of skiis.
I appreciated the nod from Randy, it was nice. But one thing he mentioned was that I might potentially feel "under-appreciated"... as that term has made the amateur sports headlines a little bit over the past few days. As I drained my last sip of espresso and savoured my final bite of bacon (until tomorrow, sweet, succulent king of all meats) I felt that I had an obligation to clarify how I actually feel.
Never, in my 12-or-whatever year tenure as a Canadian National Team Kayaker have I ever felt MORE APPRECIATED by Canadians. I have never had more support from the Canadian Olympic Committee, from Own the Podium, from Canoe-Kayak Canada or from any/all of my awesome personal sponsors. Canada is more enthusiastic about their Olympians than ever before, a sea-change that I will attribute to our recent success in Vancouver. Notice that I said "OUR" success. Because while I didn't compete in Vancouver, I do feel that it was a 34 Million person-strong team effort. Every Canadian was a winner in Vancouver, and Olympians (of both seasons) continue to benefit from those successes.
Kayaking isn't hockey. I choose not to compare them, since that is worse than apples to oranges, it's boats to blades and I don't care to waste my limited brain capacity on that. I never expected to be a rockstar, I would have stuck to the guitar if that's what I wanted. I don't expect every Canadian to become an overnight kayaking fanatic. But I do think that sportsfans in Canada are starting to broaden their horizons a little, flip beyond the front page news to see how our Olympic Team is doing in years between the Olympics. I think social media is playing a strong role in that, in that if Canadian sportsfans want to engage the Olympic team when we're racing in rural Czech Republic in front of 25 adoring fans at some early-season World Cup, there are a few ways to see the news (Athlete blogs, twitter, facebook, and Randy Starkman).
The fact that it was a tough list to narrow down this year IS A REALLY AWESOME THING. Canada won the Worlds in a whole bunch of sports last year. That means those athletes were THE best in the World. It didn't come down to season averages or totals, points for or against, trades and contract negotiations, or who the loudest-mouthed pro-sports announcer decided was a stand-out player. There was a race, or one single competition to determine who the best was that year. A Canadian won! That is cause for celebration! It's awesome when we're the best... Nothing gets me more stoked to wear the Canadian Maple Leaf on my chest, and do my best to get them to play our favourite song on the podium loud speakers, than when I see my friends from other sports doing it World Class.
The fleeting distinction of being the victor in a race is great and all, but I cherish a lot beyond those ephemeral moments throughout my career. The chance to be among the very best, within my obscure little sport and across sports - to be in the very company of the people I've mentioned and so many other incredibly inspiring athletes is what I cherish most. I'm proud, prouder than ever to be Canadian, to race for Canada, and to be on such an awesome team. Thanks for your support, thanks for reading, and thanks for appreciating our efforts...
If you need me, I'll be at the gym.
Reader Comments (7)
I'll be taking my Vancouver Oly spirit (those short-trackers sure are fast) and cheering you on from afar in London!
Daniel Aucoin, RDS-TV
Great comments and great sport spirit. All Canadian athletes deserve respect and support and we Canadian are starting to apreciate what all of you are doing. Keep on the good work and team spirit
Very close to every athlete's heart. Cheers.