Here is a part of John Furlong’s Closing Ceremony Speech:
And to perhaps compare for a moment the Canada that was with the Canada that now is. I believe we Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected with each other than ever before. These Olympic Games have lifted us up.
If the Canada that came together on Opening night was a little mysterious to some it no longer is. Now you know us, eh! If we were once the few we are surely now the many. That quiet, humble national pride we were sometimes reluctant to acknowledge seemed to take to the streets as the most beautiful kind of patriotism broke out all across our country. So many new and dazzling applications for the Maple Leaf – so many reasons to smile and be joyful.
I believe these games have united and lifted up Canada like never before. As a Canadian, I feel more passionate about being Canadian because our athletes’ accomplishments. Canada has won a record number of gold medals – more than any other country, in any other Winter Olympic Games. However, I can only make this claim as a Canadian. The images on television captured by our CTV network have been predominantly Canadian. This has undoubtedly been a powerful medium for us.
Our Olympics theme song, “I believe” (version 1), really helped to foster an emotional side of believing in myself as a Canadian (or Olympic torch relay , ver. 2). When I hear that song along with the image of Canada winning gold, it does something wonderful inside of me. I feel a sense of patriotism and tears of joy and national pride wells up inside of me. I believe that other Canadians have felt this way too.
Canadian patriotism and nationalism is at an all-time high in this country because I have never ever seen so much excitement and flag waving happening before. I don’t think the world, let alone even Canadians, have seen this kind of excitement from within before. I hope we can capture this in our hearts and minds because when we look back on these Olympic games in Vancouver, we can say with all honesty that these have been defining moments in our national psyche. Go Canada Go! I believe in Canada.
We did it. We finally did it. Our Canadian men’s hockey team defeated Team USA 3 – 2 to win the gold medal at these Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. We are singing “Oh Canada!” with a special swagger previously unseen.
A big congratulations to our Canadian women’s hockey team for winning gold. It was very sweet, probably the sweetest gold so far because hockey is our national game. It was a great game. The Canadian women played with heart and didn’t ever let up during the entire game. They went hard and aggressive the whole way through the game until the very end. Way to go Team Canada!
Joannie Rochette of Canada has won a very special bronze medal tonight – she won it for her Mom who suddenly died from a heart attack. Her mother suddenly experienced a fatal heart attack only several days ago after arriving in Vancouver, BC to watch her daughter skate. Joannie could have pulled out of the competition but she decided to continue. That was very courageous!
Our Canadian women’s short-track speed skating relay team won the silver, but this silver will not be completely sweet because we’re not sure if we deserved it. The four-time champion South Korean women were celebrating their win but their joy quickly turned sour. They were disqualified for blocking the Chinese skater, which did not appear absolutely certain to me, but what do I know? As a result of Korea’s disqualification, China won the gold, Canada, the silver, and the U.S.A., the bronze.
Two of the Canadian women’s Bobsleigh teams have just won gold and silver on the same podium today. Kallie Humphries and Heather Moyse win the gold; and Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown win the silver. Erin Pac and Elana Meyers win the bronze for the U.S.A. We are very proud of our Canadian women. This is Canada’s biggest day for medals. All four of our medals were won by women.
Our hearts also go out to Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer who was supposed to have skated to a gold medal in the 10,000-meter race in a record-setting pace. The gaffe was made when his coach motioned him to switch lanes when he was not supposed to. As a result, Kramer was disqualified. Kramer’s coach, Gerard Kemkers, was devastated and took responsibility for the gaffe.
answer a barrage of questions. Reporters should also take a tip. It’s better to be more understanding, give a person time to take out his anger and frustration before hounding him for a sound bite.
140 kilometers/hour laying head first on your stomach. If your crash and burn, a person’s head will be the first to go. So congrats to Jon on your win! His entry onto the winner’s podium at B.C. Place was most unique. Watch how he brushes to clean the podium before he jumps onto it with both feet (
I was elated to see Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win the gold medal in the Ice Dance competition (
Ashleigh McIvor
New Epistles 