Pardon, Would it Trouble You if We Won a Medal Or Two?

Slate has a cute round-up of news stories about the Vancouver Olympics – not just about the games themselves, but about Canadians. Apparently we're too cute, too bashful, too proud, even too 'un-Canadian.'

An excerpt (bolding mine):

Ink has also been spilled—not a lot, mind you—on the alleged rivalry between the United States and Canada; at least 87 percent of which is actually a rivalry between Stephen Colbert and Canada. Canadians tend to think Americans are loud and boorish. Canadians are generally dismissed by Americans as boring and staggeringly polite and nice. With the exception of hockey, which the New York Times describes as "the escape valve that makes Canadian niceness possible," Canadians are invariably painted as hopelessly childlike and sweet. Until they become evil.

Colbert has said that "Own the Podium" seems a little more strident than the previous Canadian slogan: "Pardon, would it trouble you if we won a medal or two? It would? OK. Never mind."

Somewhat predictably, the comments section is a mix of Canadians angry that the article's author is an ex-Canadian and dares to speak on their behalf, Americans complaining about Canadians' holier-than-thou attitude and Canadians apologizing for any offense.