Turning down the flag

So this one kind of stopped me this morning: Canadian athletes turning down the opportunity to carry the flag in the opening ceremonies of the upcoming Winter Olympics:

RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR

It wasn't such a heavy burden for Catriona LeMay Doan.

"The opening ceremonies are a tiring enough process," said Emery Holmik, high-performance director of Speed Skating Canada. "If you add all the demands of being flag-bearer and with a relatively heavy racing schedule, taking on that extra task is, as they've correctly evaluated, too great a load."

My questions: What are those demands? I'm all for athletes concentrating on what they've been training to do for the past four years, and coming up with their best, but is there a "jinx" at work here, either real or perceived, or is this just chickening out of what really should be a singular honour in an athlete's career? (Some jinx -- the last Winter Games flag-bearer, Catriona LeMay Doan, won a gold medal). And how much of this is a "Canadian" thing -- I can't imagine it happening in places like the U.S., or Australia, where flag-waving is part of the routine.

I know who I'd like to nominate: Shane Doan.

 

Comments

[Peter Jurenovskis]

Until all of the duties of the flagbearer are made clear and public, I don't think that we have the right to judge these athletes.

[Carla]

I hope that none of the athletes who turned down the honour of carrying our flag win medals.

[Bob C]

If these clowns don't see this as an honour, let's cut funding!

[Sean]

Can't carry our flag, but can sure take our tax dollars and cry poor when Canada does not fund their obscure sport.

Making a bid deal about carrying a flag for a few hours and having to do a few extra interviews. Sad reflection on our athletes and their love of our country and the people that support them.

[Geoff Taylor]

If these people cannot treat the ceremony and its meaning with any honour, give the job to Bertuzzi, Hockey Canada think he's good enough.

[Katy]

I have an idea: Send a REAL CANADIAN, a non-athlete, non-competitive proud Canadian and sports fan to carry the flag. It sickens me that these athletes are so self-absorbed that they refuse the honour of carrying our flag into the so-called "tiring" opening ceremonies. Need we remind the athletes that they wouldn't be competing at the Games if the Canadian government, sports community and public didn't send them there?

[George Kelly]

Firstly I do not believe in all this patriotism in International sports. These events are mostly of an individual. The Olympics are a commercial endeavour only. They are used to brainwash us to buy their products as well as for governments to brainwash the masses to their way of thinking, including wars for economic reasons. Democracy is a myth. Something of the past. How can any country be democratic with lobbyists? All democracies are controlled by the corporate world to get at our tax dollars, usually through huge subsidies, as the car industry has been guilty of for generations.

[ducky]

Given the rabid nature of our media and our fans for Olympic success (i.e. medals) is it any surprise that the athletes are turning down the chance to carry the flag? Especially if they compete in events in the first days of competition?

After all, will the media and the fans be forgiving towards the athlete who carries the flag but fails to medal?

I believe the answer there is: no.

[wayne powers]

You know cherry is a stupid old man who should just fade away. I used to cross country ski race and our worst times would be to end up in a hotel where there was a hockey team staying. From midget to senior they always stayed up late drinking and partying, while we had to try and get some sleep.
I have always questioned hockey players as true athletes, do they know what it is like to put yourselves through pain to get your best performance. The old saying in skiing is skiers results are from off season work, more than winter training. Remember great hockey players do smoke, and drink. Great skiers just train every day and miss out on parties,and other social events just so that they can perform at their very best.And if one of those scarifices has to be not carrying the flag, that's just the way you have do it.
But to hear that old fart ranting on about something he has no idea about is just annoying as hell. It's easy to be a good old boy and suck back a few cold ones with the guys, but true atheles only get to do that after they have retired from their sport. Hockey players start out from a culture of drinking and all night parties, what's the scarifice, a few teeth. Just go ask yourselve why do they call some players Sudsy

[i resigned and the world became a better place]

What in the world does carrying flag have to with how one represent their country? An athlete could wear Team Canada apparel, carry a flag, do all the right things for the next four years but would you care? Do you care just because the flag is going to be on television? Do you even care about the olympics? Do you follow amateur sports? Can you even name some of Canada's athletes?

[Carla]

Oh, puleeeeze. Take a look at the stats the Star provided yesterday (http://tinyurl.com/dk2y7). Look at all the medals won by those poor, poor athletes who bore the terrible burden of having to carry the flag. Pffffffffffft.