The Olympics have done their part in replacing war with sport as the way nations earn respect. Modern nations compete by branding their identities, and hosting the Olympic Games is the biggest branding opportunity a nation ever gets. The Beijing Games unveiled China as a global power. The Rio Games in 2016 will do the same for Brazil. The Sochi Winter Games in 2014 will showcase the raw power of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
If you’re not trying to demonstrate raw power or announce your arrival on the global stage, however, hosting the Games presents a challenge. We Canadians are immensely proud of our country, but we try to be soft-spoken about it, so we aren’t looking for the Vancouver Games to be a grandiose exercise in self-promotion. Instead, we want to demonstrate that we’re a people the world can count on.
The Games will showcase a more competitive Canada. Now Canada waits to see whether the new spirit will pay off, especially in hockey, the national game and ruling obsession. Canada will have the home advantage in the Games, and every player takes the ice knowing that only victory will do.
-Michael Ignatieff is leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He is a former contributing writer for the magazine. His latest book is “True Patriot Love.”
How did Canada's loss to the United States in Hockey affect their efforts to 'brand' themselves? How did Canadians react to the devastating loss? How does this US victory compare to the 'Miracle on Ice' team of 1980?
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