Are Sour Grapes the New Russian Delicacy?

Dear Russia: What. The. Hell. Canada hosts the Winter Games and now you’re trying to take some of our accomplishments away from us with your bitterness? Geez, we tried to be a nice host country. We do our best to be polite to everyone, even when we want to kick their butts. Apparently that is not Russia’s policy.

A Russian website accused the Canadian men’s hockey team of taking drugs after Canada trounced Russia 7-3 in a sweet, vengeful victory during the quarterfinals. Russia, who finished sixth in the overall medal count with a measly 15 medals, should have accepted defeat gracefully. Instead, Pravda.ru wrote a bitter editorial suggesting that the Canadian men’s hockey team must have been on drugs when “they beat Russia so overwhelmingly,” and that Russian athletes were scared to eat food at the games because someone may have drugged it with steroids.

First of all, paranoid much? Secondly, Canada whopped Germany 8-2 in the qualifying round and I don’t hear Germany making any crazy accusations. Pravda.ru complains that Olympic officials “predictably” didn’t ask the Canadian team to provide urine samples during the game even though they “humiliated” Russian skier Natalya Korosteleva by asking her for a urine sample. Korosteleva wasn’t the only athlete asked to pee in a cup. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) performed 2,500 drug tests throughout the games. Random drug tests are a part of the games, not a method of humiliation.

The editorial is not only a case of sour grapes but also reflects poorly on a country that simply did not bring it’s "A" game to the Olympics this year. It seems the Russian media already fears comparisons between the 2010 games and the 2014 games. According to Pravda.ru, “nobody in Russia will miss Vancouver;” the editorial then says the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, will be far superior to the 2010 Vancouver Games. Perhaps Russia should see their loss as motivation to step up their game for 2014 instead of an opportunity to hurl ridiculous accusations at a team that truly earned their gold medal.

Team Canada doesn’t need drugs to be the dream team. Canadians are good at many things. We are good at being polite, we’re good at apologizing and we are REALLY good on the ice. The Canadian women’s curling team won a silver medal; the men’s curling team dominated throughout the games and won gold. And unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, surely you’ve heard of a little hockey match between Team Canada and the United States men’s hockey team that resulted in a gold medal for Canada. The Canadian women’s hockey team also brought home the gold after slaughtering any team who dared challenge them. Canada won a historic 14 gold medals and a total 26 medals.

All Canadian citizens have a right to claim Team Canada’s Olympic victories as our own, just as we accept the losses as our own. We, as a nation united, cheered for Canadian athletes as they did their best to do us proud. We applauded historic medal wins; we cried tears of sorrow and pride watching Joannie Rochette skate her way to a bronze medal just days after her mother’s sudden death. We were with our athletes, at least in spirit, every step of the way throughout the games.

Canadian athletes did their homeland proud. There were losses and shattered dreams to go along with our victories. But, like true Canadians, we accepted those losses politely and gracefully. Unlike, say, a scowling former Canadian who competed for Australia and got his ass handed to him by a member of Team Canada, I never saw a single Canadian scowling on the podium. Canadian athletes were thrilled to be competing in general; they were ecstatic to be on the podium; and they were over-the-moon if they won gold. The majority of Canadian competitors, observers and media have focused on the good times. Some Canadian athletes who failed to win their events even apologized to Canada for their disappointing finishes. I never heard any Canadians who failed to make the podium be anything but gracious and apologetic. They were disappointed, obviously, but knew that pushing the blame onto others- other competitors, coaches, the venues, the judges- never really helps. Yes, Canada is good at many things, including being gracious whether we win or lose. Hopefully Russia can pick up a few cues from Canadian athletes before 2014; otherwise sour grapes may be the main course in Sochi’s Olympic Village.