Tied to a Tragedy?

I love the Olympic games. I don't care whether it's summer or winter, the Olympic games are always a grand spectacle. I've been looking forward to these particular winter games because they are happening very near to where I live.

The Vancouver Olympics, however, seem to be getting off to a rough start. With the El Nino weather we've experienced in the region this year, Vancouver has had to truck in snow for several of the Olympic events. The rain is putting a damper on the festivities, but today, a real tragedy occurred. A young athlete from Soviet Georgia was killed while making a training run on the luge.

They say Vancouver's luge run is the most dangerous ever, and Vancouver is now being criticized for the way the track was constructed. The world drew a collective gasp at the news of the 21 year old's death, and of course our hearts go out to the young man's family, his teammates, and his country. I do hope, however, that this tragedy does not mar these Olympic games.

They say it was the dream of the young man to participate in the Olympic games. The heart of a true Olympic athlete would never want to be responsible for dampening the spirit of the games. For 17 days, we come together, from all over the world, to engage in friendly, spirited competition. For this brief period of time, we can almost believe we are all one people, connected to each other and living in peace.

Canada has done a fantastic job of preparing for these games. The opening ceremony was absolutely beautiful. Vancouver is a wonderful city. Please don't allow these Olympic games to go into the history books tied to a tragedy.