Crazy Canuck part II
It's good news for the Canadian Olympic Committees “Own The Podium” drive for Vancouver's 2010 Olympics, but the Canadian alpine ski team has been making quite a bit of noise on the international scene.
However, domestically speaking, the team is still unknown, despite their success over the past couple years.
In fact, if you knew that the Canadian Alpine Team was Canada's 2007 ‘Team of the Year,' you deserve a pat on the back. The team moved into fifth in the National Cup standings after pulling in 14-podium finishes in 2006-2007, and the 2007-2008 season has already seen five podiums.
The entire situation is almost laughable considering when Alpine Canada's CEO Ken Read predicted in 2006 that the ski team wouldn't only be successful, but be the winningest ski team at the Olympics drew nothing but snickers from the ski world.
But now it's looking like Read was on to something as the team isn't only doing well, but consistently improving their times and finishes at international events.
It's been a while since Canadian skiers have raised eyebrows on the world circuit, not since the ‘Crazy Canucks' team back in the ‘70s and‘80s appeared on the international scene and made a name for themselves for being as reckless as they were fast and, of course, by winning.
But it's not that far fetched that the two groups are being compared when a main component between them is the same: Ken Read. Read was one of the founding four ‘Crazy Canucks' along with Dave Irwin, Dave Murray and Steve Podborski, all of whom have played big roles in not just popularizing the sport, but building the alpine generations of the future.
So for the next little while the names; John Kucera, Erik Guay, Jan Hudec, Britt Janyk. Kelly VanderBeek and Emily Brydon will probably be popping up a lot more on TSN and Sportsnet, and you'll know that they're some of Canada's best medal shots in 2010.
However, domestically speaking, the team is still unknown, despite their success over the past couple years.
In fact, if you knew that the Canadian Alpine Team was Canada's 2007 ‘Team of the Year,' you deserve a pat on the back. The team moved into fifth in the National Cup standings after pulling in 14-podium finishes in 2006-2007, and the 2007-2008 season has already seen five podiums.
The entire situation is almost laughable considering when Alpine Canada's CEO Ken Read predicted in 2006 that the ski team wouldn't only be successful, but be the winningest ski team at the Olympics drew nothing but snickers from the ski world.
But now it's looking like Read was on to something as the team isn't only doing well, but consistently improving their times and finishes at international events.
It's been a while since Canadian skiers have raised eyebrows on the world circuit, not since the ‘Crazy Canucks' team back in the ‘70s and‘80s appeared on the international scene and made a name for themselves for being as reckless as they were fast and, of course, by winning.
But it's not that far fetched that the two groups are being compared when a main component between them is the same: Ken Read. Read was one of the founding four ‘Crazy Canucks' along with Dave Irwin, Dave Murray and Steve Podborski, all of whom have played big roles in not just popularizing the sport, but building the alpine generations of the future.
So for the next little while the names; John Kucera, Erik Guay, Jan Hudec, Britt Janyk. Kelly VanderBeek and Emily Brydon will probably be popping up a lot more on TSN and Sportsnet, and you'll know that they're some of Canada's best medal shots in 2010.
