Maybe if they let us wear hockey gloves...

It’s unlikely that too many Canadians know who Adam Trupish is. And even though he is a Beijing Olympian, the situation won’t likely be much better on Aug 24.

Trupish, like the majority on Canadian athletes, will have his five minutes of attention just before he competes and another five or so while he’s doing his thing before fading into the forgotten again. Few will realize that he represents that last gasp by a once proud program. Canada’s only athlete in a sport that was once a mainstay of the Canadian team.

He’s a boxer, by the way. By international standards a mediocre one. He barely slipped into the Olympics as through a back-door “lucky loser” spot. He’s not likely to move past the first round, let alone medal.

It’s sad that it has come to this. As stated, boxing has always been a strength of the Canadian team. From Shawn O'Sullivan to Lennox Lewis you could always count on a couple boxers to make some noise (with Russ Amber providing hilarious homer commenting for the CBC). These Games won’t be the same without some good ole’ Canucks to cheer for in the ring.

The situation is such that it caused Lewis to speak out in June. Predictably he called for more funding. His suggestion being that more money would bring better results.

Money helps, no doubt. So do role models. Especially those that win the heavyweight championship of the world. Imagine how many more Canadian kids would have gone into boxing if we had produced one of those…

But, I digress. Until we do produce such a person we must deal with what we got. And that’s Adam Trupish—Canada’s last hope in the ring.