EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out my brother’s new song on youtube!

Now that the Olympics are over, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the games in Vancouver.  Every time the Olympics start, I tell myself that I am not watching and every time I get sucked in and caught up in them.  This year was no exception.  Also, Vancouver has been added to my “cities I have to visit” list.

As great as the games were, there was one moment in particular that I will remember forever.

Last Sunday night, Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette lost her mother to a sudden heart attack.  Two days before she was set to take the ice, she (and her family) was hit with this horrible tragedy.  Rochette had trained her whole life for these Olympics.  Many wondered if she would even remain in the competition.

I can’t imagine what she went through.  She not only had the pressure of competing in the Olympics, in front of her home country, as a member of the host nation, but also had to deal with the extreme grief of losing a parent.

Rochette decided to continue on and last Tuesday night she took the ice to perform her short program.  Watching her skate that night was as inspirational as anything I’ve ever seen.  She was brilliant.  She nailed every jump and after the performance, she doubled over and began to sob (5:20 of this NBC video).  Seriously, check out the video.  If it doesn’t elicit an emotional response, you have no soul.

After seeing Rochette during her short program, I wanted her to win gold.  Forget the fact that she wasn’t American or wasn’t the best skater in the field – what she had done and overcome was greater than anything any of the other skaters could accomplish.  This is saying a lot; This year’s field of women figure skaters was the most talented group the sport has ever seen.  Thursday night, she skated again and did well during her long program.

What Rochette did last week was an example of why I watch sports.  To see someone triumph on the grandest of stages, under the most dire of circumstances, was a reminder that anything is truly possible.   She epitomized not only the Olympic spirit, but the human spirit.  Furthermore, she is a shining example of the great things we can do – when our hearts are true and our minds are focused.

The best moment of the Vancouver games was not a gold medal performance, but the bronze medal performance by Joannie Rochette.