I didn't even know the Paralympics existed until this winter -- and sadly, I think I'm not alone in that realization. It's fascinating that while the Paralympics are literally the second-largest international sports event next to the Olympics, the vast majority of us are completely unaware of their existence -- or, at the most, vaguely ambivalent. Those who are ambivalent are many of the same people who donned full-body Canada gear for the past few weeks, screamed for our country at bars every night, and came out into the streets en masse after the hockey game in an impromptu display of unbridled Canadian pride and nationalism.

Somehow, I doubt those people will come out in such awe-inspiring numbers when the Paralympics come to a close -- especially given the sadly lukewarm turnout for the torch ceremony this past week (Twitter updates stated that "it looked like the only people in attendance were family members and the occasional confused bystander.") The streets are back to being a sea of black coats without much representation of the Canada gear everyone was wearing a few weeks ago. Why the lack of support? Is one type of athlete more worthy of our attention than another? A friend told me that Canadians "just don't really care about disabled athletes in the same way as the superhuman ones." I beg to differ. My hypothesis is that a great deal of our Olympics-related nationalism (or, in the Paralympics' case, lack thereof) is directly related to the amount of media and corporate attention focused on the whole Games themselves.

Now, I don't want to turn the mainstream media into the sacrificial lamb here. While CTV still refuses, despite protests, to broadcast the Paralympics closing ceremonies live (ironic given their unabashed saturation of every possible airwave, billboard and commercial spot during last month's Olympics), I will give them credit for providing the largest amount of coverage ever given to the Paralympics by Canada. However, I really think we can do better -- and I also think that if the mainstream media gave Paralympic athletes more of a chance to share their (pretty amazing) stories, Canadians would readily give them the support they deserve. Is this a naive assumption? Let's look at some of the details.

First, a bit about the history of the Paralympics. The idea of the games originated in London in 1948, designed to honour the athleticism and accomplishments of WWII vets (primarily those with life-changing spinal cord injuries.) Today, over 4,200 athletes with physical disabilities (not mental disabilities, that's the Special Olympics) from over 148 countries compete in the summer games.

The Paralympic motto is "spirit in motion" and true to that ideal, those I've talked to who were at the opening ceremonies found marked differences in the mood of the Games themselves. Accomplishments made by athletes in overcoming obstacles was emphasized over nationalism, giving the ceremonies a community, world-minded feeling -- a mood I've heard described by everyone who has knowledge of these Games. This time around, there will be about 600 athletes competing in five sports, including alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, wheelchair curling and sledge hockey (which many people have said is "intense.")

Frankly, promoting an international sense of solidarity around the achievements of remarkable individuals, whether they are athletes with physical disabilities or others who have been inspirational, is something I'd like to see more in the regular Olympics. Nationalism can be empowering, but its starting to feel a bit like a relic of an old, Cold-War era mentality of "us vs. them" as opposed to current trends towards a more global sense of self provoked by globalization and increasing inter-dependence among nations.

It is heartening that ticket sales for many of the live Paralympic events have sold out and that the crowd at these events is excited to be there. In an article, one Vancouverite notes that the Paralympic events feel "less corporate and so much more community [oriented] than the Olympics." The closing ceremonies are also almost entirely sold out, despite being barely shown on television and despite a marked neglect by mainstream print media (looking at the sports page of outlets like CBC, NHL hockey has apparently been deemed more important.)

Given these numbers of support, and my faith in the fact that Canadians DO care about an international, globally-minded sporting event showcasing the achievements of those who have defeated adversity, I think that mainstream media, corporate sponsors and the rest of us should catch up and start giving Paralympic athletes the attention they deserve. I, for one, am going to make it my own personal goal to search out Paralympics-related coverage -- even though I know it will not be an easy job. A news preview: today, Canada won its first gold metal of our city's Paralympic games -- congratulations to Brian McKeever.

Cover photo of the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies taken by Carol Browne.