I believe it has not only been a huge financial difference. You know, there was only so much funding that was allowed back 25 years ago in the 1980s, and sport wasn't as big as it is in Canada today. So yes, that is a huge part, but I think more it's the embracing of sport in government, the understanding of what sport is really about and what it can do. It filters into all different areas, into health care and into all these other aspects of government. I think it has now been an eye-opener, and we can produce some great champions. But there is a huge difference, I'd say, in 25 years, just in the attention and the embracing of the athlete.
You know, I think in the 1980s sometimes we were just somebody trying to go for a medal, and now it's so much more. There's more at stake. There's a career for the athlete.
I really believe that we are producing heroes, mentors, and idols, and this is what our younger generation needs to see. We need to see them get off the couch away from the computer, the Game Boys, and all the little things that don't get them moving. We need to create these heroes for them, these people who inspire them to get out there and do something: the Sidney Crosbys, maybe the Elizabeth Manleys still. That's what is so important, and that's the great change that I'm seeing. We're able to sit in front of a committee like this and tell you what we're about and you guys are here to help us. That's so important. Twenty-five years ago, that wasn't there.