Sunday, August 17, 2008

Olympic silver for our girls

Not often a Head-of-State's national address gets upstaged by a sporting event on primetime TV. Still, it was a match of national importance, an historic occasion and something to cheer about in gloomy times.

The final score was 3-0, but the girls had already won before the match started. They didn't go in to turn the world on its head; it was quite enough that they delivered on their promise. An Olympic silver in a team event to break a near half-century drought is, indeed, something to celebrate.

We certainly do have great girls, go-getters all; inspirational, competitive, showing fire and determination and a lion-hearted fighting spirit. Fabulous, brave, beautiful to behold. We're proud of our girls, including the little swimmer who was the toast of our town not too many days ago.

My question is, where are us guys in all of this? Our national achievements are running on women-power alone, while we guys are either too wimpy, or having a too beer-swiggin'ly good time watching our better halves on TV to match them in ambition and drive.

Perhaps we've identified with our lion city too closely?

It's probably why the PM's so worried. The lion-lioness metaphor isn't working. There ain't no little cubs swelling our pride. But honestly, if I were a lioness myself, I'd be a tad suspicious of the local gene pool too.

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