It may seem premature to pose that question only one week into the 2010 games. But we’ve already seen a host of memorable moments each of which could define the Vancouver Olympics.

Certainly a shadow was cast over the event from the start with the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Will the 2010 Games be remembered as the Olympics where the safety of the athletes gave way to the thirst for risk and spectacle? The tragedy has been officially declared the result of an athlete’s mistake rather than an unsafe track. But the shortening of the track leaves that question dangling.

I watched with mixed emotions while snowboarders and speed skaters jostled for position with elbows high in a throwback to Gordie Howe’s NHL days. Part of my memory of the games will be the way the spirit of fair competition was bruised here and there by a win-at-all-costs attitude.

On the positive side, the Vancouver Olympics will be fondly remembered by Canadians as the year the first gold medals were won by Canadian athletes on Canadian soil. The image of Alexandre Bilodeau wrapped in the Canadian flag did wonders for Canadian pride.

My favourite memories of the Games will be the comeback stories of overcoming adversity. Maelle Ricker’s runaway gold medal performance in the Snowboard Cross after being airlifted off the mountain in Tourin following a terrible crash. Jeremy Wotherspoon back on the speed skating track only 15 months after shattering his left arm in a fall.

The Olympics – Winter and Summer – have an idealized mystique. An all too brief span of time when the countries of the world put aside their differences and come together to celebrate the spirit of competition. Most certainly we need that unifying force in the fractured world we live in these days.

But pull the camera back to a wider view and it becomes clear that the Olympics are very much a metaphor for society as a whole. There are moments of glorious triumph and moments of dream-shattering failure. Moments of unselfish brotherhood and, regrettably, the occasional me-first moment. Moments of inspiration that become etched in our memory and moments we would rather not remember… but can never forget.

For three weeks we see our world in microcosm on our TV screens. We cheer and dream and live vicariously through the athletes we watch. Let us be inspired by the triumphs and by those who overcome adversity but also learn from the lesser moments. If we are able to do both, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be memorable for all the right reasons.

And since, as a proud Canadian, I can’t resist it: Go, Canada, go!

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

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