Seventeen days of Canadian patriotism

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games were a shining, golden success in every sense of the word.

They may have started off with their share of problems but a strong finish by Canadian athletes, especially the men’s hockey team, has given Canadians across the country something to be proud of.

We always knew we loved our country, but it was never more apparent than the 17 days that the Olympics were in Vancouver.

The lasting affect of the games has permeated the core of all Canadians.

It wasn’t just Alexandre Bilodeau winning Canada’s first gold medal on home soil.

It wasn’t just Joannie Rochette’s courageous performance just days after the passing of her mother.

It wasn’t just the Canadian men’s hockey team winning gold over the United States.

It was all those things and more.

The city of Vancouver, and the country as a whole, was alive with Canadian patriotism for 17 days and I was lucky enough to be part of it for a few of them.

Sunday’s hockey win may have been the crowning moment of the games.

Hockey is part of our national identity and winning the gold meant so much to us.

Sitting in a restaurant downtown Sunday, as Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner and the streets flooded with Canadian fans, was surreal.

It wasn’t limited to downtown, either.

It stretched from sea to sea, Vancouver, British Columbia to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and united a nation.

Whatever your opinion was before the Olympics began, they have no doubt changed.

I hope, the Olympics have started a trend where Canadians can show the same kind of patriotism that Americans do all the time, rather than hiding it away bashfully for fear of being likened to the United States.

Thanks world for coming, but we would like some time alone with our gold medals now.