By Definition, I am a Patriotic Person. There is no question about that. I have played for Canada in Lacrosse, and the feeling in indescribable. I cheer for Canadians every time they are in an "event" -
(for example our Canadian girls are in Olympic Qualifying right now - are 2 wins 0 losses which means they have qualified for the semi-finals - win there and they go to the 2012 Olympics - this is great stuff)
I love the World Junior Hockey Tournament every Christmas, I love Canada/Russia Hockey, and yes 1972 and Paul Henderson was an amazing Patriotic moment for me (and a lot of Canadians).
Canadians are Patriotic, no doubt, but we are not alone....what about Americans and Football, and The British and Soccer (I mean football) - India and Cricket, - I could go on and on. Being Patriotic just feels good, no matter what country you are from....it feels good to be proud.
Patriotism is always with us, every day. It is just that sometimes an event or a moment happens that brings patriotism back with a flourish, even if the event is a sad one.
One of my favorite sporting events is the Olympics, and I especially love watching the winter Olympics. In particular, I always enjoyed the skiing and snowboarding events. To watch these great athletes "do their thing" is something I always make time for.
This week, Canada lost one of the good ones.
Sarah Burke
Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke died Thursday after sustaining serious injuries in a skiing accident on Jan. 10. Burke died at the age of 29 in hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, after tearing the artery that supplies blood to the brain stem during a training run.
This was a sad day for Canada. A sad day for the skiing world, and this is a time when being Patriotic is difficult, because with all the pride that you feel when watching a great athlete, you also feel the pain that surrounds when a tragedy happens.
Sarah was a pioneer of this sport, and always wore the Maple Leaf proudly as she travelled the World, doing what she loved, and doing what she excelled at. She was just fun to watch, and knowing she was a Canadian, just felt really good.
To give a great example of Patriotism, after Sarah passed away, her family was faced with enormous hospital bill.....reaching up to $200,000. People in Canada and around the World responded.
By mid-afternoon Saturday, two websites - giveforward.com/ sarahburke and wepay.com/ donations/sarah-burke - had recorded donations of more than $300,000, significantly more than the estimated $200,000 bill the family is expected to receive.
This is what Patriotism can do. It is truly amazing.
To get a slight glimpse into who Sarah Burke was, have a look at this video.
Sarah Burke 1982 - 2009 Rest in Peace.
Yes it was a very sad day for Canadians and the Freestyle skiing community. She will be looking down on the halfpipe skiing event in the 2014 Olympics because she was a major contributor to in making it an Olympic event. Sadly she won't be there to represent her country in it but her diligence made it happen.
ReplyDeletehttp://allsportsontheweb.com/2012/01/20/ski-world-mourns-the-loss-of-sarah-burke/