I watched with some disgust on Sunday (Feb. 21, 2010) as enthusiastic Canadian hockey fans booed Team USA as they stepped on the ice.

Now, I know this is hockey and hockey has special status here. When fans act unsporting, we tend to put it down to them just being excited hockey fans. Booing and taunting opponents is standard fare in hockey matches, especially during emotionally charged games. But is it the way we ought to behave? Why don’t we boo the Americans when they step on the ice for the curling matches? Or, for that matter, the Norwegians and Germans when they start the Nordic events? (Who knows – maybe the dyed-in-the-wool hockey fans are out there booing the opponents while watching other sports.)

But I find this booing business in hockey to be shabby, very shabby. It almost makes you want to champion the opponents to kick Canada’s ass (thanks Team USA). I guess, to be fair, it wasn’t the players but the fans that irked me. (Sorry Team Canada. You have my loyalty again as you take on the Germans and the Russians.) And to all you boors (er, I guess I mean boo-ers), being unsporting didn’t help much, did it?

But this isn’t what’s really bothering me about the Olympics these days. Underlying this whole discussion is the topic of Canada’s Olympic performance and the poorly named Own the Podium (OTP) program. I’m not an expert on elite athletes, but this whole OTP approach seems wrong on so many fronts. Here’s why I think so:

1. Trying hard and doing your best is what matters. That’s what we tell our kids (or should be telling them anyway). If all of our elite athletes went out and tried their hardest and as many as possible achieved their personal best and we won some medals, then what else could we ask for? Performance should not be measured by medals. It should be measured by, well, performance. The nordic ski team won no medals in the 15 km event, yet four of them finished in the top 10 (when the previous best finish was 25th). That’s a huge success. But we didn’t own the podium. Jen Heil won silver and it was considered “consolation” by some in the media. Does owning the podium mean only gold is valued? There must be a more sophisticated and meaningful way to characterize our progress in achieving better results.
2. Is winning everything? Striving to own the podium may have led to some unsportsmanlike conduct before the games started. We denied some international teams access to the training facilities and resources prior to the games. The winning at all cost attitude that underlies the OTP program doesn’t really embody the Olympic spirit – or at least, my understanding of it. Or does it?
3. Why are the Olympics so nationalistic? The Olympics are arguably at the pinnacle of their influence. Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012 – my sense is that there will be a peak somewhere in there. (Maybe it was Beijing and we’re on the downslope now.) But the Olympics are about much more than sport and elite competition; they have become a massive business and a symbol of international cooperation. Yet I’ve found myself wondering why sport has to be so political – no, nationalistic is the word I want here. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of our Canadian athletes. But, not unlike the athletes themselves, I also have deep respect for other countries’ athletes and their achievements. What I don’t like is the way the Olympics infuses these competitions with nationalistic pride. Why does sport have to have anything to do with nations? The reasons why Canadians win go way beyond their country and culture – or for that matter Russian, German, Japanese or Korean culture. I would acknowledge that the rights and privileges (more so the latter) that our countries grants its citizens plays a role. But these athletic feats are the product of determined individuals, supportive families and well-funded political interest. Canada is one of the best places to live on this planet, but nationalism has hijacked elite sports through the Olympics and this is not necessarily a good thing. Why, for instance, should an athlete who has come out, done her best and finished fourth or fifth feel like she has “let her country down“?

In the end, the whole Olympic enterprise feels like it is being hijacked one way or another. Political and corporate interests and the Olympic movement itself. And the athletes are stuck in the middle of this. They have dedicated their lives to compete with the best of the best in games that are fair and respectful. Let’s try not to forget the athletes amid all the hype and agendas.

Oh, and if you want to own a podium, apparently they will be auctioned off after the Olympics.