Let the Games Begin!

For a country that has a large part of it's land mass covered in snow and ice all year round, you would think we would clean up at the Winter Olympics. But alas, our population is puny compared to giants like the USA and Russia.

Despite our small contingent of athletes, we are considered front-runners in Speed-Skating, Figure Skating, Curling, Snowboarding and, of course, Hockey.

Four years ago in Nagano, the Canadian Men's Hockey team saw their chance for gold slip away when, at the end of the overtime period, Olympic rules called for a shoot-out. Why Wayne Gretzky wasn't chosen as one of the five shooters is still a mystery to this day. Canada lost the shoot-out and, demoralized, went on fourth place, losing to Finland in the Bronze medal game.

Canada's Women's Hockey fared much better, taking home a silver after a heated game against the USA. What hurt about that game is that the Canadian team had repeatedly pummelled the same USA team repeatedly in the past.

For both teams, and for all athletes representing Canada in this year's Winter Olympics, I wish you the best of luck and hope you capture gold!