24 000 people packed the arena for the men's moguls medal ceremony. They were there to celebrate Alexandre Bilodeau - a native of Montreal. Bilodeau is not the first Canadian to win a gold medal and he won't be the last. However, his medal will be the most remembered. See, he was the the first Canadian to ever win a gold on home turf. Didn't happen in Montreal in 1976 (where Canada won 11 medals; five silvers) and it didn't happen in Calgary in 1988 (five medals; two silvers).
Naturally, it was a great moment for Canada. A cathartic one if you will. The energy exuded from the scene onto your television set it was so exciting. Premier Jean Charest was there to celebrate too:
"It was great and all. Great moment for sure. But, voyons donc, did they have to sing the national anthem with such gusto and in English only? Where's the OLF when you need them? And what's with all the flags? Seems to me they could have waved a few Quebec flags. I'm just saying."
Just after his comment, Charest was pelted with snow balls.
French at the Olympics is not and should not, although very tempting, be made into another ROCvsQuébec thing only. French and English regardless of where the Games are held are THE official Olympic languages; even more the rules stipulate that in case of divergence the french text prevails.
ReplyDeleteAfter all it was all reborn in France with Pierre de Coubertin.
Too late. Charest already jumped on that train.
ReplyDeleteIt cuts right to the nature of leadership. And that was a bush league move if you ask me.
Just pandering to tepid BQ/PQ fellow travelers.
ReplyDelete