Those Darn Cigar Smokin' Women

Good grief! What is becoming of the state of Canadian women? Sure, they won a gold medal for hockey in a pretty exciting game, but they are supposed to show restraint because they're ... well, they're women! Give me a break. At least they weren't pounding on security doors or throwing their skates at guards!Let's face it, we all know this is silly, regardless of how seriously the IOC is concerned about the example it sets. While the men's hockey team took some time to find its stride, the women's team was quietly taking care of business. Throughout each of their games they displayed a kind of professionalism and ability that could only bring pride and a sense of status to the IOC. And when it was all over, they behaved not so much like men or women, but athletes who had left their best efforts on the ice only minutes before and then decided to add their happiness to that mix. True, in a lapse of judgement, one member caught drinking beer was 18. What's that compared to all the beer being drunk due to their success across the land. I know for certain there were a group of Conservative cabinet ministers who shared in the spirit and smoked their cigars in jubilation (won't tell you what they drank). Men do it and it's okay. Women? Well, I say that's perfectly okay too. A minor mistake was made - time to move on.In fact, our women are so good at what they do on the rink that the head of the International Olympic Committee pondered today whether women's hockey should be taken out of the Olympics entirely. Why? Because it's not competitive enough. But what about all those years when the Norwegians dominated cross country skiing? Or what seemed like decades when the Canadians powered through one gold medal after another for curling? An entire new generation of athletes is emerging that now seriously challenges the domination of venues by one country or another, and they're succeeding at it because the Olympics are supposed to be about love of the sport as opposed to just winning. The worst thing the IOC could do right now would be to take away the rights of all the fiercely competitive women hockey players in places like China who have struggled through the system for decades in order to finally get to a competitive level. It's only a matter of time until players from countries we never thought of will be competing for gold in every sport. We never cancelled the NHL during the dominant years of the Canadiens or the Oilers, and now look at the league - competitive at every level.As Canadians we need to get behind Hayley Wickenheiser and her mates, not because they're women but because they're champions in their own right. Here we are as a nation talking about Owning the Podium when right before our eyes these remarkable athletes owned the ice, between the nets and in the corners.How important is this? Last night, I hosted a political meeting in our home and in the process threw my wife into a crisis. Every Friday afternoon she plays on a men's hockey team and loves the game. And here was her deranged husband arranging a meeting on a night she had solely reserved for Wickenheiser and the others. She came out from the TV room and tried to show her support for what I was doing. She lasted about three minutes, then she was gone for the rest of the evening. I couldn't have been prouder. I could hear her screaming with the kids in the other room every time Team Canada scored. Her heart had been inspired by some fantastic athletes and her busy life was lightened by their victory. Own the Podium? Sure.  Own the Ice? Yup. But now they own our hearts and its time we acknowledge what they are due, and that is the right to continue competing at the Olympic level.