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 Well the 2008 Beijing is well on its way and Canada after 9 days finally won it's first medal. Now there has been a lot of criticism about Canada and how poor it has done in these games, and how we are suppose to get less medals this time around compared to the games in Athens. Now the reasoning to this is that Canada doesn't give funding to our athletes, unlike China and the Americans the Athletes here are unable to make a living just off there sport alone and rely on having a full time job in order to pay for their training. Well you know what I say, good for you Canadian government, I hope you don't invest into more funding to our athletes!
Now don't get me wrong, I love sports I'm a very athletic guy, from playing hockey for 15 years to achieving a black belt in martial arts, I love my sports, but by no means do I think we as tax payers should have to invest into sports that we don't have interests in. And ho do we decide if we have an interests in the sport? There would be contracts for the athletes which would make them quit their daytime jobs.
Yes, yes, there are a few select individuals out there who do enjoy jumping off a diving board with their friends and trying to sequenize their dives together, but you wouldn't find me paying $200 a ticket to go watch that, yet I would to go watch an NHL game. Ah ha, do you see what I'm onto here?
Whats one sport in the Olympics that Canada has dominated for years and has the whole country obsessed with and willing to pay hundreds of dollars for per seat, and is able to fund itself to develop world class Olympians? Hockey! I think that if a sport is successful in its country and is an interest to the people of that country it will develop it's athletes on its own without prying money from the government. Fans of the sport will actually start supporting it and paying money to go watch, creating funding for the sport on its own. Hockey creates millions if not Billions for athletes, and how much does sequenized diving bring in? Is it really a sport? Thats a whole different blog stay tuned for that one.
My point here is that if a sport is popular with th people it will create interest from the people, which then will bring in money for it, and if it doesn't then that should come out of the athletes pocket and not us the tax payers. So say no to funding athletes and let the sport evolve on its own to create its own interest and funding.
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