A weekend of celebratory ritual
With the advent of PVRs, there are few events that are watched in real time anymore. The media environment has fragmented into a million individualized pieces. But this weekend marked a very rare time in which Canadians were all glued to the same screen on two separate nights. In both cases, these media events ignited our feelings of national pride and identity. These were our rituals of celebration.
On Saturday, one-third of Canadians stood in their living rooms, in public parks or, for a lucky few, inside a concert hall in Kingston, Ont., to say goodbye to Canada’s band – the Tragically Hip and Gord Downie. The final concert, broadcast live, allowed Canadians to bid farewell to a great show-master, shiny pants and all. Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in May and the Hip toured across the country, with the final concert a return to their hometown. Thousands of tributes to the band and the singer have poured in since May and the Saturday show was the opportunity to say goodbye and thank you.
Then, on Sunday, swimmer Penny Oleksiak, 16, represented this country in the stadium in Rio as the Olympic Games came to a close. The four-time medallist walked with pride as our flag-bearer. Despite the gloom and doom forecast for the Olympics, at the end of it all, watching the athletes enter the stadium, Canadians could be proud of the finish - 22 medals in total and 10th overall in the standings.
Most of the medals came courtesy of female athletes, proving once and for all funding women’s sports not only means women will shine, but that they’ll be watched. There are now some household names to bandy around, names that will surely become part of an endorsement deal: Oleksiak, along with gold medallist Rosie MacLennan (trampoline), Winnipeg’s own Chantal Van Landeghem and Desiree Scott, with bronze medals in swimming and soccer, respectively. Not to be forgotten is affable sprinter Andre De Grasse, a three-time medal winner whose bromance with Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, gave viewers great joy. De Grasse, 21, has many years ahead of him to wear the Canadian flag wrapped around his shoulders and he’s one more reason to be proud.
Watching as they paraded into the Olympic stadium with their exuberant, young faces, waving their red and white mittens - the country’s values were on display. No brash condemnation of their competition, like that demonstrated by Hope Solo, the American soccer player who called Sweden’s team cowardly after the U.S.’s stunning loss. No drunken vandalism and then public lies, like Ryan Lochte and the three other U.S. swimmers who misled police about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio. The Canadian contingent served the country well.
It doesn’t happen often anymore, where the country stops and watches at one time the events that make us a nation. With glowing hearts, we watched it happen twice this past weekend. It was truly a time to be a proud Canadian.