I thought I’d already had my say on the Olympics and how exactly this event affect me, this city and the entire country but reading some of the post Olympics news I’ve come to realize that I have more to say. A whole lot more and much of it isn’t positive.

My mother (as I'm sure as yours did too) always told me that if I didn’t have something nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all. OK – here’s what I have nice to say about Gil LeBreton – I don’t know you.

Take what you can get because the fact is, I don’t like you either. So sure, I live in Vancouver. I was here before the games and I’ll be here after so perhaps I do have some sort of vested interest but when you compare Canada and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics to Nazi Germany and the 1936 Berlin games, I’m going to take offence.

For 2 weeks Vancouver and the rest of Canada showed pride in not just their athletes but their country. So yes, perhaps some of the parties were less about the games than getting together to simply enjoy each other and what the city has to offer but you know what? It doesn’t matter because the bottom line is that we celebrated with the world. If you didn’t see an Olympic flag, you obviously didn’t look hard enough because they were hanging everywhere and as for people carrying them, I saw buttons and pins displaying the rings.

And shame on us for celebrating our local heroes. Never mind that the New York Times, which I saw handed out on a few occasions at transit stations early on into the games, prominently featured US athletes. And you chide us for putting our Olympians on the cover of newspapers and magazines? Please. As for that montage…guess what, you’re watching Canadian Television – suck it up. If you want to see someone else, tune into another station. Out of curiosity, I turned to NBC’s coverage of the closing ceremonies and guess what? Every 15 seconds, the camera was panning to another US athlete. Where were the other Olympians then? CTV’s coverage took note of many an international winner.

Perhaps it’s our own fault. Canada has long been seen as some second rate little brother to the US. Is it safe to assume that the world now has a better understanding of who we are and that yes, we have national pride that runs as deep and fervent as any other? Gosh, I sense a bit of envy here from LeBreton – or something.

I’m sure LeBreton isn’t alone in his views but I can’t, in good faith, agree with anything he's put to paper. There isn’t even an attempt at balance in his story, only a disdain for Canada and what the country achieved. At least Chris Erskine managed to balance the good and the bad in his final coverage.