Canada’s Pan Am apathy

Almost 800 representatives competed at last month’s event, but did any one back home even notice?

By Adam Peleshaty — The
Manitoban (University of Manitoba)

WINNIPEG (CUP) — The Pan
American Games should be very
familiar to Canadians. Our fair nation
has hosted the event twice, in 1967
and 1999, both coming in Winnipeg. If
you turn on the TV or read the paper,
however, you would be hard pressed to
find a sign of its existence.

This year, the XVI Pan American .
Games were held in Guadalajara,
Mexico, Oct. 14-30. Canada sent 794
athletes, coaches and other support
staff to the competition. This is the last
high-profile event for Canadian athletes
before next year’s Summer Olympics in
London.

In many Canadian papers, the Pan
American Games have been reduced to
single articles about Canadian medal
winners from the previous day. There
have been very few articles about
specific athletes or the performance of
Guadalajara as the host city. Likewise,
coverage of the games on television
was also lacking.

One main reason for the lack of
coverage is that the Pan Am Games
don’t usually attract the best athletes.
Canada often sends developmental
teams to the event, including this
year. This is more evident because the
Games are being held in October this
year, which coincides with the end of
the summer sports season.

Media may also be wary of
travelling to Guadalajara, one of the
centres of Mexico’s war on drugs. It is
unfortunate because this event could be
the starting point of Canadian Olympic
success stories in the future.

The Pan American Games act as
Olympic qualifiers for many sports.
Canada and.Argentina played for a
direct Olympic berth and a gold medal
in men’s field hockey — and this year,
Argentina won.

Athletes can also claim Olympic
berths by meeting qualifying standards
in sports such as track and field and
swimming. Younger athletes use the
Pan Am Games to gain international
experience. Out of the 18 Canadian
medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics,
10 were won by athletes with previous

   

Pan Am Games medals. Therefore,

success at this event can translate to
Olympic success either next year in
London or in 2016 in Rio.

This year’s event has seen some
great stories involving Canadian
athletes: The women’s 4x100-metre
relay swim team wore Mexican
wrestler masks before their silver-
medal winning race. Dylan Armstrong,
the world’s leading shot putter,
defended his Pan Am title with an event
record throw. Winnipeg diver Kevin
Geyson returned to the water after
being hit by a car this past summer.
The women’s soccer team won gold in
its first major event since a disastrous

World Cup last summer.
The men’s baseball team also

won its first-ever Pan Am Games
gold medal. With baseball now

‘excluded from the Olympics, pitcher

Scott Richmond stated, “This is our
Olympics.” These accomplishments
should have been celebrated by
Canadians, instead of being relegated to
the sports briefs.

While many Canadian sports fans
may not have been aware of this year’s
event, they should be in four years
when Toronto hosts the Pan American
Games in 2015.

Hopefully, the local Toronto media
will also be aware.

 

Money can buy happiness:

A look at Manchester City’s season to date

 

 

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

club was bought by Abu Dhabi

United Group. Things were about
to change drastically. Almost before
the team had been signed over to its

I: August of 2008, a very middling

‘new owners, a slew of marquee names

were being rumoured to transfer to the
club; however, due to the lateness of
the takeover, Brazilian flop Robinho
was the only signee for the princely
sum of £32.5 million. Following a
decent season that included a final-
eight appearance in the UEFA Cup, the
floodgates would be opened on summer
spending. Gareth Barry, Roque Santa
Cruz, Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Adebayor,
Carlos Tévez, and Joleon Lescott had
all made their way to Manchester by the
end of the summer for a tidy amount in

/ excess of £100 million. In keeping with

their ‘strategy’ to completely overhaul
the team with name brand players, the
ownership then moved to sack Mark
Hughes as manager, and install Roberto
Mancini as manager by Christmas. By
the end of the season, City had bought

' fought their way to a fifth-place finish.

Predictably, the next summer
revealed the coffers of the Abu Dhabi
United Group to be truly limitless as
Jéréme Boateng, Yaya Touré, David
Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov, Mario
Balotelli, and James Milner threw
on the baby-blue; Edin Dzeko would
arrive in January. An FA Cup win,
coupled with a third-place league finish,

which guaranteed them a spot in the
Champions League, proved that City
had established itself as a top club.

Finally reaching the present,

City added to its veritable stable of
superstars this offseason, bringing

in Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri,

Gael Clichy, and the rebuilt Owen
Hargreaves. How has that worked out
for them? To put it lightly: very, very
well. The season has seen the club roar
to the top of the league in convincing
fashion, including a 6-1 thrashing of
major rivals Manchester United, and
an undefeated (six wins, zero losses)
October in all competitions.

Of course, with success comes
criticism and derision, and there
has been no shortage of this for the
Manchester-based club. The team has
been accused of buying fame and glory,
and, quite frankly, haven’t they? To
draw an American football reference for
those who wish it, picture Manchester
City as the Philadelphia Eagles...
except... successful. The squad is chock
full of dynamic superstars, and they
play like it. Bash on City all you want,
but at the end of the day it’s still a team
game, and no matter how many quality
players are brought in, they still have to
work together to get the ‘W.’

As a quick note to end this, even
for those who can’t stand watching
soccer/football, circle April 28:on your
calendar right now; it’s the date City
and United go at it again, and it’s going
to be a doozy. Glory glory.

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