Adam van Koeverden was named the Canadian flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies this summer in Beijing. Since the topic of selection is so touchy, I thought I'd jump the gun and create my own list of winter athletes who've earned their chance to hoist the Canadian flag high and lead our team of Olympians into the stadium. Please note that I've ignored all relevant selection rules (and basic logic) in this process.
On that note, my top three choices for Canadian flag bearer at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are:
3. Ross Rebagliati
This Canadian snowboarder won the first ever gold medal for snowboarding (giant slalom) at the '98 Nagano games. He had the medal taken away after testing positive for marijuana when the IOC mistakenly thought the green stuff would make you perform better. Eventually the decision was overturned and Ross got his medal back.
Pros: Won't be nervous; proven winner.
Cons: Flag will probably be misplaced or have a Kraft Dinner stain on it.
2. Elvis Stojko
This figure skating bad boy had millions of eyes on him during many a performance. He was the first skater to use a quad combination in competition and had a rock and roll-meets-kung-fu mentality that made him unique. Remember in Nagano, when he and his strained groin soldiered on, and gave an inspired and technically difficult routine? He finished with the silver medal, but that was enough for this gutsy skater to make his country proud!
Pros: Can spin the flag four times. Maybe... If he's lucky.
Cons: His all-leather outfit will more than likely clash with the colourful outfits worn by our Olympians.
1. Myriam Bédard
A Lou Marsh winning athlete (top performance by a Canadian athlete), Myriam left the '94 Lillehammer games with two individual gold medals. Truly an incredible performance, but this is unfortunately forgotten when her name comes up these days. Being linked to the Liberal sponsorship scandal is probably low on her list of accomplishments, but even lower is her criminal record. Myriam was arrested and found guilty (2006/2007) of child abduction after disappearing to Washington, D.C. with her daughter.
Pros: Can double as security if anything goes wrong due to her extensive shooting background.
Cons: Might run away with the flag.
Who's your pick for flag bearer in the winter of 2010 in Vancouver?
E-mail your responses to the5hole_editor@live.ca.
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