Canada's Inferiority Complex Ends With Triatholon Silver

This morning I read a column from the Sunday Tacoma Tribune by a guy named Peter Callaghan. He's funny. The column was about his random thoughts about the Olympics. He seems to take the Olympics about as seriously as I do. And shares my Bob Costas aversion.

In the second paragraph Callaghan writes, "What's with Canada's inferiority complex? It's like they're all from Tacoma." He goes on to say he likes the Canadian coverage better than NBC, but that it gets tedious listening to the announcers make excuses when the Canadian fails, "which is often."

Sample excuses offered by the Canadian announcers were things like, "Was your suit too tight?" "Did you have to get up too early?" "Or is it the bad air?"

And then Callaghan writes, "And they have to tart up the slightest accomplishment. A swimmer who doesn't drown is dubbed the Canadian Michael Phelps."

So, last night, during hot dogs and strawberries and grilled corn (delicious, best corn ever) we sat down in front of the Flat Panel and watched the Olympics on Canadian TV. It is so much more watchable than NBC. Very little of that non-stop blathering and constant need to have some bizarre narrative, like Lucy's grandma died at 99 a week ago and Bob Costas is sure Lucy was thinking of grandma during that back flip into the pool.

The event we were watching was the Triathlon. I'd not seen this before. It started off with what looked like 100 guys jumping into a lake at the same time with a giant pagoda looking over them. They swam for quite a distance, like a synchronized line. Then the line gradually broke up and became a sort of thrashing triangle. On and on they swam.

During this we were informed of the story of the Great Canadian Hope who none of us America-Centric Americans had heard of, a guy named Simon Whitfield. We were quite a ways into the swimming before we realized there was an American or two among the swimmers.

After the group was done swimming for miles and miles they one by one got out of the water and ran to a bike which they pushed to the start line and hopped on, slipping their feet into shoes already attached to the pedals.

The bike course went on for miles, I mean, kilometers. They had to repeat this course, I think, 6 times. For about 300 feet, I mean, 100 meters, or so, they pedaled in front of cheering people in a grandstand.

I gave up watching after the first time around. I did not make it to the running part. It seemed like the Canadians were covering pretty much every second of this race. With a break for local Canadian news out of Vancouver, which was amusing in itself, with a Brit accented Weather Girl with very unfortunate helmet hair.

This morning I learned that the Canadian Triathlete, Simon Whitfield, he being the Great Canadian Hope, came in second, getting a silver medal. I'm sure the Canadians were quite happy.

Back to that Callaghan guy. I thought his comment that Canada had an inferiority complex, in the same manner as Tacoma's, was interesting. I've not noted manifestations of Tacoma having a civic inferiority complex due to being in the shadow of its more robust Seattle partner in the Seattle/Tacoma Metro area. I've long made note of how Fort Worth comes across in its media as having a massive inferiority complex regarding how it feels about its Dallas partner in the D/FW Metroplex.

I can see where Canada is sort of like Fort Worth and Tacoma, not quite the success story of its nearest neighbor. But that's nothing to have an inferiority complex over. There are a lot of really good things about Canada, Fort Worth and Tacoma, even though they are a bit overshadowed by America, Dallas and Seattle.

In other words, America, Dallas and Seattle are gold medal type places. Canada, Fort Worth and Tacoma should be quite pleased to be silver medal type places. And nothing stops them from aspiring to gold medal status. It'd be a great thing to see Canada become a Superpower. Fort Worth, not so much.