I've heard Oh Canada before just about every single sporting event I have been to and it never gets old. But those few times I get to hear it at the Olympic Games it just means so much more, like the athlete earned the right for it to be played so everyone in their country can hear it and everyone no matter what country they are from only gets to hear that anthem. I can only remember the Olympics back to 1994 in Lillehammer but each one has provided events that I will always remember, and reminds me of how fun it is to cheer for the maple leaf every two years, especially when its against an Olympic superpower such as Russia or the big bad USA. Here are my top 10 most memorable events that I witnessed first hand, and this is completely from a Canadian standpoint.
1: Men's hockey winning gold in 2002
Nothing compares to this in all my years of following sports, the prototypical "where were you when" sports moment for my generation. Following heartache in the shootout in 1994 and then when the pros blew it in Nagano, there wasn't too much confidence entering Salt Lake City. After a few mediocre games, Gretzky took the pressure off the players and ripped into the media providing an underdog feel for this team of all-stars. After beating Finland and Belarus it was time to take on the home team, the USA for gold. After falling behind 1-0 early, I knew it was too good to be true, but after 60 minutes it was 5-2 Canada and we drove the streets of Collingwood with the flag hanging out the windows.
2: Daniel Nestor and Sebastian Lareau winning gold in 2002 - Pairs tennis
They were ranked fourth, but I don't remember them being any kind of medal threat, let alone the gold medal winners. I knew of Nestor, but I hadn't heard of Lareau but it was fun hearing of them keep winning and once they made the gold medal match I made a point of staying up and watching the match (it began at midnight if I remember correctly). Nestor and Lareau were big underdogs in the final as it was widely assumed that the Woodies (Woodbridge and Woodforde) would take home the gold at their home games, and after winning the first set they were in good position to do so. But the Canadians fought back and took the fourth set in a tiebreak to clinch the first tennis medal in Canada's Olympic history.
3: Jamie Sale and David Pelletier winning silver/gold in 2002 - Pairs figure skating
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