Everybody's a Critic

Jeff Green | Feb 11, 2010

Editorial by Jeff Green

As the winter Olympics start this weekend, the Canadian media machines will turn their attention to two weeks of flag waving as Canada tries to take its place as the greatest sporting nation that money can buy.

Much of the worldwide media, once it turns its attention away from the poverty and drug problems of Vancouver's lower east side, will then find itself puzzling over what all the fuss is about because the games that will be played don't seem to fire the global imagination.

Witness the following dismissive comment in a pre-Olympic primer about the hockey competition from the Guardian, a leading Liberal minded newspaper in the UK that has a global following.

“Hockey: Quite the most pointless sport to be televised as it is impossible to follow the puck unless the action is shown in slow motion. Possibly worth watching for the frequent fights but you'll have to take the score on trust. Not that you will care because Great Britain hasn't entered a team in either the men's or women's competitions.”

Curling does not fare much better.

“Curling: The winter equivalent of lawn bowls. Why anyone would want to watch someone throw a stone along the ice while their team-mates get to work with a few brushes to slow it down or speed it up is anyone's guess...”

This, mind you, is coming from a media market where darts, snooker, and even lawn bowling itself can regularly be found by channel surfers at any time of the day or night.

And to think there are still many Canadians who remain steadfastly proud of their UK heritage.