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Most readers of this column are quite aware of my atâ€" titude toward the Montreal Olympic Games. And I am sure that many of them have put me down as a spoilâ€"sport, a wet blanket, a niggling critic of a glorious event. Well, let‘s get back to the Games themselves, before I turn puce, which is what I do every time I think of 72,000 people cheering athletes while the raw sewage flows out of Montreal into the St. Lawrence. Afraid I don‘t go for that jazz. That‘s like saying that Napoleon, who bled France dry, physically and financially, was after all, not a bad little chap, that he meant well, that he didn‘t really mean to lose half a million men in the retreat from Moscow, that his wife, Josephine, didn‘t tunderâ€" stand him, and that his family was greedy. Nuts. He did it for La Gloire. And so did Drapeau. The major difference between them is that Napoleon had to face only the English, the Prussians, the Poles and the Russians. Drapeau had to face the trade unions. Beaucoup formidâ€" able! able! Oh, well, it was a great party while it lasted. Now the Well, let‘s get back to the Games themselves, before I _ caterers must be paid. If you are driving along beside the turn puce, which is what I do every time I think of 72,000 _ St. Lawrence River next summer, and notice that the water people cheering athletes while the raw sewage flows out of _ is a rusty brown, rather than blue, don‘t be alarmed. And Montreal into the St. Lawrence. don‘t think it is merely the usual human excrement from All hail to the athletes! We may be greedy when it comes _ Montreal. It is, but added to it is a healthy infusion of the to making a buck â€" as witness the federal government‘s blood of Montreal and Quebec taxpayers. Not so, please. If you have read with care my ferocious attacks on the Games, you‘ll have noticed that 1 wasn‘t knocking them, or the athletes. | o I am as redâ€"blooded a Canadian as the next guy, and I groaned when the Canadians came last in the boat race, and I cheered when a Canadian scrambled to a second or third or fourth. And I almost wept when one of our beautiful little gymnasts tottered Â¥nd fell off the bar. Even hardâ€"boiled reporters were suggesting we‘d been a bit rough on Drapeau, that after all, he had had the vision, the tenacity, to pursue his dream, and that we were all cashing in on it. What I was smiting was the chauvinism, the hunger for power, the utter immorality that lay behind the acâ€" quisition of the Games by Montreal. â€" _ â€" Montreal needed those Games about as much as I need an amputation of my right leg. And the results will be somewhat the same. The city will be crippled for half a cenâ€" tury because it wanted to hold a twoâ€"week party for the whole world. Chauvinism. Hunger for power? Maybe that‘s the wrong phrase. More like a hunger for the limelight, or a yearning for some sort of immortality (maybe lasting 30 years? ) on the part of the archâ€"promoter, M. Drapeau.~ During the Games, many critics softened up quite a bit on Drapeau. Through no virtue of his, the Games, wallowing in problems, had been scotchâ€"taped together at the last minâ€" ute by the government of Quebec, and the official opening was magnificent, veiling the fantastic debt His Worship had built up. | P N go* 221 WEBER STREET NORTH, WATERLOO 884â€"5850 Canada‘s Largest Steak House Chain serving over 18 million steaks this year STEAE HOUSE g 2 Bill Smiley | ;' \\?,“5\1‘5 .s-e nior *__ citizens dinner club PLUS! FREE COFFEE OR TEA ALL AFTEARNOON! _ You‘re invited to come and join us for an afternoon of fun and fellowship Have‘ lunch with us at greatly reduced prices and then stay to play cards, chat or listen to interesting speakers. The Semior Citizens Dinner Club is for you Come and join us! Free tea and coffee all afternoon Above all include baked potato or fmes, salad and dinner roll Des sert is extra ns T EVERY MONDAY 1 PM â€" 3 PM Every single and solitary athlete in the Games, Canaâ€" dian or otherwise, did the very best he or she could do at that given moment. And that‘s what it‘s all about. kneeâ€"jerk to China, with visions of big wheat sales dancing in its puny head. But when it comes to winning Olympic medals, Canaâ€" dians are certainly among the least greedy nations in the world. We are so hospitable about letting other countries grab the medals that it is almost embarrassing. Canadian sports writers, on the whole, are pale imitations of their U.S. counterparts. Most of them are not, as they should be, extremely knowledgeable about the sport they are writing on. They are far more interested in times, staâ€" tistics and medals than they are in the human drama of the Games. > > And that‘s the way it should be. The important thing about international games is â€" or should be â€" doing your absolute best. Andâ€"that‘s what Canada‘s young represenâ€" tatives did. My heart, and I‘m sure yours, was right in there thumping away with them, whether they were finishâ€" ing fourth or 14th. â€" One of tke things that really, bugged me before and during the Olympics was the crassness of sports writers. Now, admittedly, this is a species not known for its sensitivity, but the crudeness this time was simply too much. It‘s no wonder that Canadian athletes rapidly become disenchanted with the press. When an athlete is ‘"up," even exceeding what he or she has ever done before, jock writâ€" ers are dreaming about medals. When an athlete has a bad day or a bad race, the jocks subtly suggest that he or she has "let Canada down." . After saying all that, I must admit the CBC did a splenâ€" did job of covering the Games. Their commentators were no more partisan than human nature would excuse, and they kept the focus on the athletes, where it should be. How strange to read a TV columnist, who was almost whiteâ€"lipped with anger because the television commenâ€" tators were not excoriating Canadian athletes who ""did not live up to promise."" What a jerk! _ _ Montreal‘s Games Waterioo Chronicle, Wednesday, August 18, 1976 â€" Page 19 Moses Springer Arena Albert McCormick Arena Friday 7 â€" 9:30 p.m. Wednesday 7 â€" 9:30 p.m. Sunday 7 â€" 9:30 p.m. Friday 7 â€" 9:3 p.m. Sunday 7 â€" 9:30 p.m. (Corner of King & Allen St.) _ â€" Activities Daily Mon. â€" Fri. Include: Games Room, Floor & Table Shuffleboard. Billiards Rooms, 10 ¢ tea & coffee. Note: No memberâ€" ship needed. INFORMATION : 579â€"1020 The Waterioo Concert Band will be presenting a free concert for your family enjoyment on Sunday Aug. 15 at 7 :30 p.m. Location : Centennial Bandshell, Waterloo Park Free parking at U of W â€" parking lot ‘°C‘. Access off of Seagram Drive. Moses Springer Pool 885â€"4530 Waterloo Lions Pooal 885â€"6350 Opening June 5th, 1976 Public swimming times at both pools. Months of July & August â€" Sunday to Saturday, 1:00 to 5:00 P.M. and 6: 30 to 9:00 P.M. Family and adult swimming daily â€" 5:00 to 6:30 P.M. during July & August. Adult only free noon hour swim at Lions Pool, Monday to Friday 12:00 noon to 1 :00 P. M. Marineland Niagara Falls & Oakes Drive Lookout. Friday, August 27, 1976 Leave Adult Recreation Centre: 8:00 a. m. Return 5:00 p.m. Cost: $9/person (includes bus fare and admission to Marineland) City of Waterloo Part time help is needed for the following positions concession staff ice skating cruisers skate sharpening Apply at the Waterloo Community Services Offices: 3rd floor. Marsland Centre 221 Weber St. N., Waterloo Monday August 23, 1976 1 :00 p.m. â€" 3:00 p.m. Enjoy a steak dinner at reduced rates then stay at the steakhouse for cards with free coffee and tea until 4:30 p.m. For reservations call 579â€"1020 ‘‘Canningâ€"Freezingâ€"Preservingâ€"Pickling" Thursday, August 26, 1976 9: 30 a.m. â€" 3: 30 p.m. * bring a lunch * call 745â€"0651 CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION Thursday August 26 Leave Adults Recreation Centre : 8:30 a.m. Return: 6:00 p.m. COST : $4.50/person Call: Hazel Brown 744â€"0122 ACTIVITIES FOR SENIOR ADULTS ADULT RECREATION CENTRE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES PONDEROSA STEAKHOUSE SENIOR CITIZENS DINNER CLUB (Nutrition Improvement Project) FREE LECTURE Thursday August 19, 1976 1 :30 p.m 50¢/person refreshments Friday, August 20 7:30 p.m. $1.00/person refreshments Music by George Baal FREE BAND CONCERT LET‘S GO DANCING 1935 FEATURE FILM SWIMMING POOLS 15 & over 50¢ Skate rentals 50¢ NO SPECTATORS ROLLER SKA\ING 14 & under 25¢ PROJECT NIP BUS TOURS ACTIVITIES COMMUNITY SERVICES Centre: 886â€"1550