Editorial - March 3, 2010

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Canada's heart

By Andy Comber

It was Sunday but I don't know the exact time of day, whether I was hungry, thirsty or tired all I know is my heart stopped momentarily, not once, but twice.

Of course, I'm talking about the heart-stopping Olympic gold-medal hockey game between Canada and the United States. Canada was less than 25 seconds away from winning gold, but Zach Parise scored for the U.S. to tie the game heart failure!

I joined millions of Canadian fans, holding my breath for 7 minutes and 40 seconds into "sudden death" overtime, and then Sydney Crosby scored for Canada heart failure!

Only last week, I wrote in this column about the effects of extreme upset and extreme joy. Never in our history have so many Canadians collectively suffered a heart attack.

Previously, our hearts raced as the Canadian women's hockey team took on the U.S. (An amazing Olympic footnote: The results for men's and women's hockey were the same Canada gold, U.S. silver, and Finland bronze.)

Nothing unites Canadians like a hockey championship on the world stage. On Sunday, many looked for the Stanley Cup but this time it was a Canadian flag that was hoisted high. It was called "the best Olympics ever" for Canada 14 gold medals, the most gold of any nation, 7 silver and 5 bronze.

But, it is more than gold that unites us. It is that Olympic spirit that makes us proud to call Canada our home.

Our hearts were beating together for Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette who, just four days before winning a bronze medal, lost her mother to an actual heart attack. A world of hearts joined Rochette as she sent kisses to heaven after her free skate, honouring her mother. Her spirit made us proud.

"I didn't sleep much," Rochette told the press. "But that last triple, my mom was lifting me up because I had no more legs. I really feel that it happened."

Sometimes it is not medals at all that make us proud to be Canadian.

It was Canadians "complete strangers" that offered lodgings free of charge to the family and friends of U.S. bobsledder Bob Mesler, who thought they would miss the Olympics after losing $8,000 in a house rental scam.

"The outpouring of support has been amazing," Mesler said. "I wouldn't have expected anything less from the Canadians."

In another pre-Olympics broadcast, former anchor Tom Brokaw talked about the longstanding friendship between the U.S. and Canada, all the while showing breathtaking scenes of Canada's beauty.

Now, my thoughts return to that final gold medal hockey game. What can I say? I'm Canadian I've got to check my pulse.

You can find gold in any country but only Canada has this much heart.
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