The Little Maple Leaf that Could: Baseball Canada Qualifies for Olympics

So I'm tired of writing about the Blue and White Maple Leaf, and the fact that the team will be without their two top-scorers (Nik Antropov and Mats Sundin) on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders.

What I am concerned about however, is the Red and White Maple Leaf.

Now, as some of you may or may not know (while some of you will choose to ignore all together) the Olympics are this summer in Beijing, China—143 days away.

Some of you may also know that this is the final year that baseball will be an " Olympic sport", meaning that aside from the World Baseball Classic, the world's elite will only get one more shot to flex their international muscle.

Canada, as of Thursday, earned the right to be one of the countries with an opportunity to claim the final gold medal awarded, after finishing the Olympic qualifying tournament 5-1—to the surprise of nearly everyone.

Internationally, Canada is known as a hockey country, however there have been steps taken in the past few years to expand the impact that Canada can have on Pro-sports around the world.

I mean Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Matt Stairs, Jeff Francis, and Russell Martin are just a few of the Canadian stars speckled across major-league rosters.

But what's really impressive about Canada, is that they've been able to compete internationally without a lot of these "big names" or "hot shot prospects", compiling their  International teams primarily on sheer grit and pride, mixed in with a little bit of talent. 

Sure there were guys like Rob Ducey and Paul Spoljaric on the roster, but aside from Adam Stern and Pete Orr, there wasn't really a "top-notch prospect" on the 2004 team. I mean Colorado didn't think that Canada knew ANYTHING about baseball, and were worried that we'd somehow ruin Jeff Francis' arm.

But despite all that, the 2004 Olympics certainly but the red and white on the  map as Canada's baseball team came within a win of the gold medal game, as the game-tying home run was snagged by Cuban left-fielder Frederich Cepeda.

But despite the disappointing finish, Canada kept their spirits high in 2004, following each win with a stirring rendition of Oh Canada.

And just like in 2004, Team Canada spent the past weekend belting out the National Anthem wherever they pleased following their Olympic qualification: On the bus, in the hotel, and even halfway through interviews.

This team isn't exactly playing under "veteran leadership" either. Although turnover is fairly frequent on International rosters (due to age, skill-level, and history), Canada has five veterans from the 2004 Olympics: Ryan Radmanovich, Adam Stern, Jeremy Ware, Mike Kusiewicz, and Stubby Clapp.

However, where their experience trails off (99 MLB games) it's the other names on the roster; the Matt Rogelstad's, the James Avery's, and the Mike Saunders' that will look to pave the way to Canada's international play for year's to come.

We'll find out if the future is in good hands come this August, but you can count me in as one of the fans taking a break from the MLB and cheering on the "little engine that could".

Oh, Canada.