ABSTRACT

Sport is an important part of life for many Canadian men and women. It can evoke emotions of passion, excitement, invigorate the imagination in incredible ways, and can promote unity, nationalism and competitiveness.1 Frank G. Menke indicates that ‘[n]o country in the world is more devoted to sports than Canada’.2 Canadians play for fun, fantasy, excitement and even for exercise: ‘Play allows us to be totally frivolous about important things in our work-centred lives or to be completely serious about things that are trivial’.3 As individuals and as a collective nation, we revel in the success of Canadian teams and athletes at international competitions and celebrate these successes as if they are intricate parts of our lives. Many Canadians over the age of 40 can remember the exact moment Paul Henderson scored the winning goal that secured victory over the Soviet Union for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series, or for those a little younger, the day that hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was traded to an American team or when he announced his retirement. Many remember celebrating Donovan Bailey’s gold medal performances at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and Mike Weir’s final shot when he won the 2003 Masters. Undoubtedly, Canadians remember watching and celebrating the gold medal performances of both the men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City:

It is impossible to account for the whereabouts of every Canadian yesterday afternoon, but it is safe to assume one thing: If there wasn’t a television in the room, chances are nobody was there … cities in the rest of the country were downright spooky. Busy streets and typically bustling shopping malls looked like ghost towns as people spent the afternoon inside and in front of the TV. However, when the final seconds ticked away and Canada won the gold medal, joyous fans streamed down bustling Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, many draped in flags and clad in red and white. Some leaned precariously out of car windows as they leaned on their car horns. One fan was seen sprinting down the street, clad in nothing but a Canadian flag. ‘It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life’, said Sue Murray from Flin Flon, Man. ‘I’m a happy, happy person today. I cried. We all cried. Fifty years without a gold medal. We deserve it’. ‘That was better than losing my virginity!’ screamed one fan in the frenzied moments after Canada won gold.4