Heavy Medal Days Boost CBC

We would hope the grumbling has finally subsided. For good, for that matter.
Especially with Canadian athletes racking up an impressive 13 medals in five days at the Beijing Olympics, putting their total for Athens 2004 in the rear-view mirror.
While bitching about our medal goose egg became almost a national sport during the first week of the 2008 Summer Games, the passion for the five-ring circus was still mighty clear. And now that the red maple leaf is starting to soar above more and more podiums ... well, that's been the biggest signal of all for Canadians to tune in to the goings-on in China.
Just ask the CBC, which has seen its ratings soar along with Canada's medal total. An average of 1.590 million viewers — the public broadcaster's largest of the Games — tuned into Olympic Prime on Monday night. The highest peak in Beijing (2.574 million) came at 11:49 p.m., as Simon Whitfield charged for gold in the men's triathlon. The native of Kingston, Ont., wound up second in one of the most dramatic finishes of these entire Olympics.
That event helped push Pacific Prime's average overnight to 746,000, also the best number for that show during Beijing 2008.
With Canadians clearly on a roll — and more serious medal hopes to come, including flagbearer Adam van Koeverden at the canoe/kayak venue — this is a success story that should continue.
*****
There's a whole country south of the border that will take issue with this. But I'll say it anyways.
Is there a more boring, overhyped story in Beijing than the so-called Redeem Team? Yeah, it's true the NBA star laden U.S. men's basketball team has barely broken a sweat in Beijing and probably won't en route to gold. But really, I've got all winter to hear about this lot and even then, it's far too much.
Give me more stories about the men and women whose only time in the spotlight happens right now — and not again for four more years. That's the real Olympics to me. Always has been, always will be.