Are we going to win a Gold medal?

[DGF]

Silver medal in womens trampoline!

[Murf]

FreakyMe said:

and the fact that we have 1/10th the population of the U.S.....

If you want an even comparison with regards to population.... California is outpacing Canada in medal count, 15 to 3.

[FreakyMe]

Murf said:

If you want an even comparison with regards to population.... California is outpacing Canada in medal count, 15 to 3.

But when people migrate to a certain area for training purposes, that doesn't really count. For example, Calgary would have at least half of Canada's winter medals if we looked at it that way...


On a more positive note, the 'Dream Team' lost to Lithuania.... *snicker*

And as Murf pointed out, Canada now has three medals... including another silver in men's rowing... I believe it was quads.


*edited to say that I believe that has to do with Michael Phelps, no? He would now have 6 medals? He's from California, no? And when you put it that way, why don't we measure in the reverse, Canada has 3 medals to the rest of the U.S. having 30? C'mon Murf... get real.

[Tink]

Gold Medal in gymnastics ;D

[Atl]

FreakyMe said:

Bearing in mind that Canada doesn't fund their athletes... (or if they do, it's barely,) and the fact that we have 1/10th the population of the U.S..... and half the number of athletes, I'd say we're doing not bad. Not great, but not bad. Some areas we've sucked ass, and some we've kicked ass.

Invalid arguement.

Does the population of Canada suddenly multiply by ten when the Winter Olympics come around?

[FreakyMe]

Atl said:

Invalid arguement.

Does the population of Canada suddenly multiply by ten when the Winter Olympics come around?

Ummmm... no. We were discussing the current Olympics though. In regards to winter olympics, we probably send close to the same number of athletes as the U.S, and stilll end up with fewer medals.... why is that? With 1/10th the overall population, there *should* be less of a talent pool.

[Atl]

FreakyMe said:

Ummmm... no. We were discussing the current Olympics though. In regards to winter olympics, we probably send close to the same number of athletes as the U.S, and stilll end up with fewer medals.... why is that? With 1/10th the overall population, there *should* be less of a talent pool.

The U.S. doesn't usually perform all too well in the Winter Games.

Just admit it...Canada doesn't match up to the US in the Summer Games. You think in over 3 million people that you could find comparable talent. The two countries aren't all that different.

[FreakyMe]

Atl said:

The U.S. doesn't usually perform all too well in the Winter Games.

Just admit it...Canada doesn't match up to the US in the Summer Games. You think in over 3 million people that you could find comparable talent. The two countries aren't all that different.

You have to forgive me if I disagree. More $ = better coaches, more training, etc. If I could spend all my time doing nothing but the sport of my choice, I'd hope I'd be pretty damn good too. But up here, our athletes don't have that luxury. Our government doesn't look at athletic endeavours as a thing of national pride. Maybe the citizens do, but not the government. There is a whole different attitude about sports in Canada. (As far as I can tell, anyways.) We care about hockey. That's about it. Nothing else really gets much recognition, and as such, much funding. (Well, hockey doesn't even get that much funding to be honest.... I suspect players like Jarome Iginla contribute more than any level of government towards assisting athletes.) Athletic scholarships to the extent they occur in the U.S. do not occur in Canada. People don't get 'scouted' to race for a University's track team. Certainly there are rewards, but if the top athletes can't afford to get to places they will be recognized, they will never get very far.

[Murf]

FreakyMe said:

*edited to say that I believe that has to do with Michael Phelps, no? He would now have 6 medals? He's from California, no? And when you put it that way, why don't we measure in the reverse, Canada has 3 medals to the rest of the U.S. having 30? C'mon Murf... get real.

Michael Phelps is from Maryland. I don't understand the rest of your comment.

[Atl]

FreakyMe said:

You have to forgive me if I disagree. More $ = better coaches, more training, etc. If I could spend all my time doing nothing but the sport of my choice, I'd hope I'd be pretty damn good too. But up here, our athletes don't have that luxury. Our government doesn't look at athletic endeavours as a thing of national pride. Maybe the citizens do, but not the government. There is a whole different attitude about sports in Canada. (As far as I can tell, anyways.) We care about hockey. That's about it. Nothing else really gets much recognition, and as such, much funding. (Well, hockey doesn't even get that much funding to be honest.... I suspect players like Jarome Iginla contribute more than any level of government towards assisting athletes.) Athletic scholarships to the extent they occur in the U.S. do not occur in Canada. People don't get 'scouted' to race for a University's track team. Certainly there are rewards, but if the top athletes can't afford to get to places they will be recognized, they will never get very far.

The government doesn't fund any of the athletes. If you've watched the Olympic coverage on NBC, you'll see a lot of commercials of Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, among many other companies. The U.S.O.C. has numerous sponsors which fund the athletes. The more air-time a company gets, the more they sponsored toward the athletes. Also, for collegiate athletes given scholarships, those are also not handed out by the government. When alumni and company sponsors donate money toward a university, a good portion is sent to the athletics department, along with numerous funds from athletics boosters. Each sport gets a certain amount of scholarships they can use per year, per 2 years, depending on which sport you're talking about. The U.S. Government itself does not pay toward the athletes or their training.

[DGF]

Three golds, six silvers, three bronze!
Twelve medals...good job Canadian athletes! I'm prouda you all! You did your best! ;D